Malta’s entry into the EU is welcomed, so long as it does not have “any negative effect on the heritage of Christian values of our people”. That’s the recommendation of the Maltese bishops who have devoted a document to the question, as well as a pastoral letter with the title “The Maltese heritage of Christian values”. The decision to join the EU was the result of a long debate in the island. This is also noted by the European Commission appointed to draw up a report on the “state of health” of each of the candidate countries in preparation for the Copenhagen summit in December. “Malta says the report will have to prepare itself to join the EU in a different way than the other candidate countries, also in view of its previous decision to place its candidature on hold for two years. This interruption in its preparations for membership has resulted in the Maltese authorities having less familiarity” with the European parameters and “having devoted less attention to closing the gap between Maltese and EU legislation”. In the course of the debate, the bishops have always exhorted the country’s political and civil community “to consider not their own particular interests, but the common good of the people”. And they add: “We wish to repeat that it is essential not to permit economic and political factors alone to determine our country’s position in the negotiations. The process must respect the human and Christian values of Malta, so that the primacy of the ethical and spiritual legacy of our country be guaranteed. We recall as priorities the respect for fundamental human rights and in particular the respect for life, from its conception to natural death, social justice, solidarity, and the protection of the rights and safety of workers. The Maltese legacy of Christian values is still essentially strong. But the same cannot be said of Europe”. The bishops recall what the Pope affirmed during his pastoral visit to the island in May 2001: “Characterized by its position in Europe and in the Mediterranean basin said the Pope Malta is heir to a rich and unique cultural tradition, at the centre of which we find the humanism of the Gospel. Of the 380,000 inhabitants of Malta, 93.4% are Catholics, subdivided into 2 dioceses, 79 parishes and 3 pastoral sees. Pastoral care is assigned to 5 bishops, 496 priests and 435 religious. The Church runs 96 schools.
