Archbishop calls for a ‘just wage’ during Independence Day homily

The leader of the Maltese Catholic Church  has called on policymakers to do more in promoting and delivering on social justice.

“The appreciation of labour is… implemented through the mechanism of a just wage,” Archbishop Charles J Scicluna insisted this morning.

During his homily during Pontifical Mass celebrating Independence Day, the Archbishop stated that “authority must strive to promote the common good in the interest of all, without favoring any individual citizen or category of citizen.”

Today, more than ever, we are proud to be building a nation that is future-proof -JM #Indipendenza2017 pic.twitter.com/F42gkDyapa

— Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) September 21, 2017

People in positions of power must pay more attention to the weaker members of society, who are at a disadvantage when it comes to defending their own rights and asserting their legitimate interests, the Archbishop continued.

“The promotion of the common good is the promotion of social justice,” he insisted, arguing that civil duty demands contributions to the general welfare.

The Archbishop called on politicians to “exercise their authority in a way best calculated to ensure or promote the State's welfare”.

The overall welfare of society and the development of intermediary groups are central to the principle of the common good, emphasized in the Archbishop’s homily.

The common good also calls for social peace, stability and security, achievable through “a particular concern for distributive justice. Whenever this is violated, violence always ensues.”

Global society is one where a growing number of people are “deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable,” the Archbishop continued. “The principle of common good immediately becomes a summons to solidarity and the preferential option for the poorest of our brothers and sisters.”

“We should ask ourselves whether the wealth being generated in our society… is creating an oligarchy of the super-rich while reducing our workers to situations where they cannot even afford the monthly rent for a decent home,” the Archbishop continued.

It is the role of government to ensure that Maltese citizens continue to enjoy a dignified standard of living in their own homeland, he maintained. “As we thrive to attract the rich and the mighty of this world to invest here and work among us, let us also try to ensure that our families are not edged out of the decent standard of living most of them still enjoy.”

The political community must not only focus on economic growth as the sole means of advancing the common good, he continued.

“Intergenerational solidarity is not optional, but rather a basic question of justice, since the world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us,” Archbishop Scicluna said.

Scicluna was speaking during the 53rd Independence Day festivities, addressing 3 acting political figures: acting President Dolores Cristina, acting Prime Minister and PL deputy leader Chris Fearne and outgoing Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, amongst others such as PN leader Adrian Delia.