Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1253597
3 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 MAY 2020 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications Reply to Tonio Fenech OF course I cannot but agree with Tonio Fenech that we need values to accompany science. Science by itself provides facts; it is philosophy which reasons about ethics. And by this same reasoning, I can- not but strongly disagree that science is able to tell us when cells become "a person". It might be that this is the "Catholic biology" which Tonio Borg mentioned earlier this week, but it's definitely not something which falls within the scientific realm. As the Malta Humanist Association (MHA), we are by definition defenders of ethical principles but reaching eth- ical conclusions is not easy; "We are condemned to be free" as Sartre puts it, and as such we have the grave re- sponsibility of deciding for ourselves. Unfortunately, most of us don't take this duty seriously and end up loosely following the morality of our herd. It is weird, for example, how many Maltese people are against abortion but not against endangering people's lives at sea. Of course, they might even have logical reasons for this, but I can't help but notice the apparent contradiction. The free exercise of conscience – a crucial element of a fully human life – means that as Humanists we don't necessarily reach individually-iden- tical conclusions. If anything, this highlights our positive regard of the human nature. On the other hand, assuming that everyone will simply choose whatever suits him or her without consider- ing the full picture, betrays the lack of moral standards we believe we have. Without doubt, this freedom of conscience requires education and for this reason we believe that the introduction of optional ethics in schools is one small step in the right direction. Alas, centuries of dominance by the Church has not borne the fruits one would have expected. The fact that we take our resistance to abortion and euthanasia as sure signs of our moral high-ground, speaks volumes of the ethical principles guiding our nation. Concluding, as MHA we reiterate our wholehearted support to science and logic, which together with philos- ophy and the deepest human senti- ments (such as fairness and compas- sion), can continue guiding us towards a more just and humane society. Dr Christian Colombo Chairperson, Malta Humanist Association Useless 'intercessions' In a local newspaper, a Catholic priest wrote a two-page article on the coronavirus pandemic and on "the in- tercession of saints", including "the 14 holy helpers". At Nadur, they invoked "Our Lady's intercession" through a painting depicting her breastfeeding Jesus. Meanwhile, in the real world, the media reported that "Europe was reeling from the pandemic... The virus claimed thousands more lives in its relentless march across the globe." The "intercession" of Our Lady and of "the 14 holy helpers" did not save the precious lives of over 349,000 people that have perished in the pandemic so far. In his book Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio wrote: "Into the notable city of Florence, fairer than every other in Italy, there came [in 1348] the death-dealing pestilence [the Black Death]...Against this plague no wisdom or human foresight was any use...Equally useless were humble supplications, made to God not once but many times, both in ordered pro- cessions and other ways, by devout persons." John Guillaumier St Julian's