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MALTATODAY 3 February 2019

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19 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 FEBRUARY 2019 Mikiel Galea Christians in Pakistan THE rejection of the petition against the acquittal of Asia Bibi by the Su- preme Court of Pakistan this week is a triumph of human rights over religious intolerance, a victory over the hatred of fanatics and above all a personal hap- piness and a great joy for Asia Bibi and her family. This is a victory for us at Aid to the Church in Need (Malta) as the Foundation has been at the forefront of not just the Asia Bibi case, but also providing the desperately needed help to Christians on death row in Pakistan and others accused of crimes they did not commit. Amid growing extremism, Chris- tians in Pakistan are often victimised and radical Muslims are misusing the controversial blasphemy law to settle personal scores against them. Aid to the Church in Need (Malta) supports the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) in Pakistan, which is presently campaigning for a moratorium on the death penalty and providing legal aid, medicine and coun- selling to Christians in prison, includ- ing 17 people who were jailed following a 2015 riot sparked by an extremist attack on two churches near Lahore, Pakistan. ACN is calling on all people of good- will in Malta and Gozo to extend their hands of generosity to these brothers and sisters who are on death row and are suffering all manner of assaults. Grace Attu, ACN Malta In search of truth JOHN Guillaumier's ('Paul's homo- sexuality') knack of reporting anything anti-Catholic is such that contradicting him seems like making pigs fly. Truth however, will have the final say. On Monday April 5, 1976, without mentioning French author Roger Pe- yrefitte by name, Pope Paul VI said in a brief address to a crowd of about 20,000 in St Peter's Square: "We know that our cardinal vicar and the Italian Bishops' Conference have urged you to pray for our humble person, who has been made the target of scorn and hor- rible and scandalous accusations by a certain press lacking dutiful regard for honesty and truth. We thank you for all these demonstrations of faithful piety and moral sensibility." It was obviously fake reporting em- braced only by Church-haters and anti-Catholic writers. Maybe there is a surprising number of them around working full stretch, now that the Church is passing again through a pe- riod of distress. Pope Paul VI's confessor had this to say about him: "If Pope Paul was not a saint when he was elected Pope, he became one during his pontificate. I was able to witness not only with what energy and dedication he toiled for Christ and the Church but also and above all, how much he suffered for Christ and Church. I always admired not only his deep inner resignation but also his constant abandonment to di- vine providence." Maybe the words "how much he suffered for Christ and Church" refer to these infamous allegations. Could it have been then bearing false witness or Satan's latest stunt? "Blessed are you when men reproach you, and persecute you, speaking falsely, say all manners of evil against you for my sake" (Matthew 5, 5-11). John Azzopardi, Zabbar BOV pensions BANK of Valletta p.l.c. notes that the article 'Bank of Valletta employees seek millions in damages for unpaid pension top-ups' (27 January, 2019), contains a number of facts which are incorrect, speculative and, at best, misleading. The article which relates to a claim by a number of ex-bank employees, and which has been ongoing in court for a number of years, is limited to illustrat- ing the claimants' views, taking them as fact, while there was no attempt to explain the bank's position on the mat- ter. Apart from the fact that it is un- clear how, or on what basis, the figures in the article have been calculated, the inference that the Bank unilaterally de- cided to change the employee pension arrangements (which had been 'in- herited' as part of the take-over of the National Bank of Malta and its employ- ees) is also incorrect, since the revised pension arrangements were agreed as part of a collective agreement. Regrettably, the article speculates that the bank granted a benefit to em- ployees who were not entitled to it, without explaining why or how this conclusion was reached. This claim is not true and is specifically the subject- matter of the proceedings still pending before the Industrial Tribunal. For this reason, without entering into the details of the proceedings, the Bank will limit itself to stating that it has treat- ed all employees fairly and has submitted various arguments to rebut the claim made and to explain why the claimants are, in fact, due no compensation. Charles Azzopardi, Bank of Valletta Letters & Clarifications

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