(17 APR 10 - RV) Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Malta. Below we publish the full
text of his addess on arrival at Luqa International Airport:
Mr President, Dear
Brother Bishops, Distinguished Authorities, Ladies and Gentlemen, Jien kuntent
ħafna li ninsab fostkom! It gives me great joy to be here in Malta with you today.
I come among you as a pilgrim to worship the Lord and to praise him for the wonders
he has worked here. I come also as the Successor of Saint Peter to confirm you in
the faith (cf. Lk 22:32) and to join you in prayer to the one living and true
God, in the company of all the Saints, including the great Apostle of Malta, Saint
Paul. Though my visit to your country is short, I pray that it will bear much fruit.
I am grateful, Mr President, for the kind words with which you have greeted
me in your own name and on behalf of the Maltese people. I thank you for your invitation
and for the hard work that you and the Government have done in order to prepare for
my visit. I thank the Prime Minister, the civil and military authorities, the members
of the Diplomatic Corps and everyone present, for honouring this occasion by your
presence and for your cordial welcome. I greet in a special way Archbishop Paul
Cremona, Bishop Mario Grech and Auxiliary Bishop Annetto Depasquale, as well as the
other Bishops present. In greeting you, I wish to express my affection for the priests,
deacons, men and women Religious and all the lay faithful entrusted to your pastoral
care. The occasion of my visit to these islands is the nineteen hundred and
fiftieth anniversary of Saint Paul’s shipwreck off the island of Malta. Saint Luke
describes this event in the Acts of the Apostles, and it is from his account that
you have chosen the theme of this visit: “Jeħtieg iżda li naslu fi gżira” (Acts
27:26). Some might consider Saint Paul’s arrival in Malta by means of a humanly unforeseen
event to be a mere accident of history. The eyes of faith, however, enable us to
recognize here the workings of divine Providence. Malta, in fact, has been at
the crossroads of many of the great events and cultural exchanges in European and
Mediterranean history, right up to our own times. These islands have played a key
role in the political, religious and cultural development of Europe, the Near East,
and North Africa. To these shores, then, in the mysterious designs of God, the Gospel
was brought by Saint Paul and the early followers of Christ. Their missionary work
has borne much fruit over the centuries, contributing in innumerable ways to shaping
Malta’s rich and noble culture. On account of their geographical position, these
islands have been of great strategic importance on more than one occasion, even in
recent times: indeed, the George Cross upon your national flag proudly testifies to
your people’s great courage during the dark days of the last world war. Likewise,
the fortifications that feature so prominently in the island’s architecture speak
of earlier struggles, when Malta contributed so much to the defence of Christianity
by land and by sea. You continue to play a valuable role in the ongoing debates on
European identity, culture and policy. At the same time, I am pleased to note your
Government’s commitment to humanitarian projects further afield, especially in Africa.
It is greatly to be hoped that this will serve to promote the welfare of those less
fortunate than yourselves, as an expression of genuine Christian charity. Indeed,
Malta has much to contribute to questions as diverse as tolerance, reciprocity, immigration,
and other issues crucial to the future of this continent. Your Nation should continue
to stand up for the indissolubility of marriage as a natural institution as well as
a sacramental one, and for the true nature of the family, just as it does for the
sacredness of human life from conception to natural death and for the proper respect
owed to religious freedom in ways that bring authentic integral development to individuals
and society. Malta also has close links to the near East, not only in cultural
and religious terms, but even linguistically. Allow me to encourage you to put this
ensemble of skills and strengths to ever greater use so as to serve as a bridge of
understanding between the peoples, cultures and religions which surround the Mediterranean.
Much has still to be done to build relationships of genuine trust and fruitful dialogue,
and Malta is well placed to hold out the hand of friendship to her neighbours to north
and south, to east and west. The Maltese people, enlightened for almost two millennia
by the teachings of the Gospel and continually fortified by their Christian roots,
are rightly proud of the indispensable role that the Catholic faith has played in
their nation’s development. The beauty of our faith is expressed in various and complementary
ways here, not least in the lives of holiness which have led Maltese to give of themselves
for the good of others. Among these we must include Dun Ġorġ Preca, whom I was pleased
to canonize just three years ago (3 June, 2007). I invite all of you to invoke his
intercession for the spiritual fruitfulness of this, my first pastoral visit among
you. I look forward to praying with you during my time in Malta and I wish, as
a father and as a brother, to assure you of my affection for you and my eagerness
to share this time with you in faith and friendship. With these thoughts, I entrust
all of you to the protection of Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu and your father in the faith,
the great Apostle Paul. Il-Mulej ibierek lill-poplu kollu ta’ Malta u ta’ Għawdex!