Archbishop calls for ‘authentic independence’ in people’s minds

Cremona told a congregation led by the President of the Republic that “authentic independence” was reached when people understood that wrong actions have an effect upon others “just as all good and just actions also have an effect upon others. Independence is also an amalgamation of all this, of the personal responsibility of each and every one of us.”

The archbishop said Independence opened the way for a new challenge for Malta, that of strengthening  the independence itself that was achieved, and likened it to a personal journey for human beings

“This is a challenge which points to internal independence, an independence of spirit. External freedom may be achieved however any person or country, unless it achieves internal freedom, remains dominated by forces which do not allow good to prevail… the external freedom which was achieved does not bear the necessary fruit. Today we are celebrating precisely this: the path towards our holistic independence.”

In his message to Christians, Cremona used the example of the evangelist Matthew, a tax collector, as someone who may have been dominated by a greed for money. But when he abandoned his work to follow Jesus, he achieved “authentic independence”.

“Because he became truly free to love other persons rather than viewing them as persons whom he could take advantage of for his own personal gain.

“In my opinion, if we combine independence from foreign domination together with this internal challenge facing each and every person, the values we may glean from today’s celebration would be of greater advantage to our society.”

In a veiled message to politicians, Cremona also focused on passages of the New Testament to reinforce the principle that words should be accompanied by facts. “We use our words to convince others, possibily also making promises to them – promises which we do not fulfill.”

Cremona told ministers to be mindful of their authority and “sensitive to the load he could be putting upon others, sometimes even unjustly. This is seen when there is a great difference between the load that he who is in authority and the weaker members of society are carrying.”

He advised against becoming detached from God, warning that when people use themselves as their own point of reference the consequences in history were that they became “a tyrant, or a relativist.”

And he finally sent out a little message to the media, saying it pushed people to “focus more upon our ‘image’ rather than towards the cultivation of sincerity and honesty.”