Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1484063
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 3 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 NOVEMBER 2022 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications God's proselytisation TO explain why the killing of innocent children is allowed by a loving God is as impossible as razing to the ground a mountain base with a razor blade and nobody can deny that the universe is full of wonders and mysteries, more so our Christian faith but we believe that God himself can suffer and still be per- fect in power and love, still in control of the world and our shepherd. This pain is not put aside nor its cost denied but is seen as a way of cleans- ing, a forward road for men and the Church and a new understanding of nature's complexities and men's per- plexities. There is still no neat answer but the new truth, way and life emerg- es from the cross. It is hard to digest that suffering, pain and death are mysteriously compatible and intrinsic with God's love but when the manner of Peter's death was fore- told by Jesus, it signified glory to God. But who can understand God's prose- lytisation? Anything said or written can never cover yet the death of children, leaving us in horrified incomprehension. In all humility, after confessing four times our inability to explain this di- vine conundrum, my personal point of view, is that sadness and acceptance of the cross, peace and love are patiently borne throughout one's life with Chris- tian fortitude. In any case, atheism has no solution to similar circumstances but believers at least can cling to the consolation of religion and faith. John Azzopardi Zabbar Palumbo on residents' statement WE take health and safety very seri- ously and are baffled by the residents' letter to ERA as the authority itself has only recently renewed the envi- ronmental permit for the shipyard. Palumbo is a successful business because it operates according to the highest international standards. We do this not just for the benefit of our clients, but also because we are com- mitted to ensuring the health and safety of our workers and the sur- rounding community. Only last night, we too went out to monitor the noise generated by the 'yard and confirmed that the decibel level does not exceed the volume of a normal conversation. We have nothing to hide. The ship- yard is currently full and we invite anybody to come and see with their own eyes that our operations are con- ducted with the utmost rigour and respect for the environment. We go over and above what is stip- ulated in our environmental permit and — right now, for example — four vessels are connected to shore pow- er so that their generators can be switched off for the entire duration of the repair process. We also assure our neighbours that no foul smells emanate from the ship- yard and we encourage the authorities to look into what is leading to this. Air quality is constantly monitored by ERA and the reading for Friday, November 4 was FAIR — a better result than Msida. This information is freely available on ERA's website. Should the public have any con- cerns over activity at the 'yard, the main gate of the yard is manned 24/7 and they are more than welcome to personally report any one-off instanc- es of noise and we will address them immediately. We took over the shipyard 13 years ago and since then we have complete- ly upgraded the operations in the interests of our community, the envi- ronment and our clients. However, we cannot be blamed for everything that happens in the port. Ariadne Massa obo Palumbo Shipyards