Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Time to wake up

By  Michael Asciak in Malta Independent

I was away from the island for three weeks, partly on an Opus Dei annual sabbatical workshop dealing with Christology (the essence and being of Christ – one substance but two natures) and partly on holiday. Together with my wife and two daughters, I spent several days enjoying the delights of Lake Como in Italy which is easily accessible from Milan by train (30 minutes). There is however a big change in scenery from that in Milan, when walking out of the main station in Como San Giovanni! It's really breathtaking to see the majestic lake itself surrounded by rising high mountains whose peaks were often ringed with puffy clouds. The stately villas with their beautiful flower and tree gardens are something to behold in themselves, several of them being just summer residences for those who want to get away from Milan’s summer heat.
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Two years ago I wrote an article from Rome after having several discussions with a Spanish colleague of mine during a similar Opus Dei workshop retreat then dealing with marriage. He was a supernumerary like me, married with children and a navy captain at the Nato command in Naples. In between lectures in theology and prayers, we often talked in our free time about security in the Mediterranean. He asked me pointed questions about Malta’s future security which I then realised underlined the deficiencies we potentially faced then and which are increasingly crystallizing now. I subsequently wrote a piece published by this newspaper and asked whether Malta should start seeking membership of Nato since we are already a member of PfP. Not surprisingly, even though my article then was in the form of a question, I was taken to task and openly ridiculed by the leftist press and politicians who were then in Opposition. Today, with Labour in government, we suddenly have the Minister of Foreign Affairs asking the same questions I asked two years ago. Nobody on the left is laughing now it seems! Dr Vella went on to express his wish that security arrangements similar to those in other European neutral countries should be sought.
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Read the rest here.