Gravi

Ir-rapport dwar l-abbużi fuq tfal u żgħażagħ f’Pennsylvania u l-ħidma li saret mill-ġerarkija Kattolika biex tgħattihom hu gravi ħafna. Jikkonferma li l-Knisja Kattolika saret struttura dominata mill-kasta ta’ qassisin. Imexxuha skont kif jistgħu l-aktar jassiguraw id-dominju tagħhom, kif jaħbu l-iżbalji u d-delitti li jwettqu sħabhom.

Xi ħadd li jħares lejn dan il-fenomenu minn barra, jiddubita kemm dil-problema fondamentali tista’ tissolva b’eżerċizzji fil-kumnikazzjoni, bħall-ittra lill-“fidili” kollha li bagħat Papa Franġisku.

Jekk il-Knisja Kattolika mhijiex se tnaddaf bin-nar il-mod u l-istrutturi ta’ kif l-ideali li suppost tħaddan jitwettqu fil-prattika, se tispiċċa skredidata għal kollox. Fuq quddiem nett, trid tpoġġi l-ħtieġa li titneħħa l-prepotenza tas-saff saċerdotali. Hekk kienu għamlu uħud minn fost is-“setti” Nonkonformisti.

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WELDING

Ġie raġel ikellimni dwar ix-xewqa li baqgħet miegħu tul il-ħajja u kelli nammirah għaliha. Matul is-snin, kien tgħallem fuq il-post tax-xogħol, studja u ġab il-kwalifiki meħtieġa, imbagħad daħal biex jgħallem is-sengħa li saret tiegħu: dik tal-iwweldjar. It-tagħlim ta’ dis-sengħa liż-żgħażagħ baqa’ jagħtih sodisfazzjoni kbir. Tkellem b’entużjażmu dwar is-suċċessi li kisbu l-apprendisti li ħadem magħhom.

Baqa’ jagħti din l-istruzzjoni anki “part-time” sakemm fl-aħħar snin, l-awtoritajiet tal-iskejjel waqqfuh. Offra li jibqa’ jagħti l-kontribut tiegħu, anke bla ħlas, imma qalulu għal darba tnejn le. Anke l-Ombudsman ma tahx wiċċ.

Ried il-parir tiegħi dwar x’jista’ jagħmel.

Saqsejtu kemm kellu żmien. Qalli li qabeż it-tmenin.

Il-parir li tajtu kien li jaqta’ qalbu. Ħadd mhu se jagħtih wiċċ minħabba l-età li jġorr.

Għadni mdejjaq b’li kelli ngħidlu. Possibbli li (ma’ xi NGO jekk mhux mal-gvern) raġel bħal dan ma jistax isib kif iwettaq l-aspirazzjoni li jibqa’ ta’ siwi għal ħaddieħor f’sengħa utli li qed tbatti f’pajjiżna?

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NOTIFIKA

Għadni ma fhimt xejn mill-istorja ta’ kif notifika dwar regoli ġodda tal-impjiegi ħarġet bla ma ħadd kien jaf jew induna biha.

Sa fejn rajt jien, l-allarm… jekk allarm kien… ingħata f’artiklu ta’ avukat speċjalista fil-liġi tax-xogħol li deher f’ġurnal ta’ kuljum. Irrefera għal dak li deher fil-gazzetta tal-gvern. Jekk fhimt tajjeb, sa dak il-punt l-għaqdiet tan-negozju ma kienu ntebħu b’xejn. Imbagħad f’temp ta’ ġurnata ħarġu jikkundannaw in-notifika. Qamet polemika ċkejkna dwar jekk kinux ġew konsultati qabel jew le.

Nissuspetta li l-għaqdiet tan-negozju jeħtieġ itejbu sew il-mod kif qed jissorveljaw it-tmexxija ekonomika u l-bidliet li jkunu qed iseħħu fir-regoli ta’ tmexxija. Ħafna mill-bidliet jirriflettu deċiżjonijiet meħuda fuq livell Ewropew. Dwarhom mhux biss il-gvern irid jagħmel il-“homework” meħtieġ, imma l-għaqdiet infushom. Żgur li dan qed isir?

English Version – Extremely serious

The report about the longlasting abuses of children and young people in Pennsylvania and the efforts by the Catholic hierarchy to cover them up, raises extremely serious issues. It confirms how the Catholic Church has become a structure dominated by a caste of priests. They run it according to criteria which best guarantee their domination, as well as enable them to hide the mistakes and crimes their fellows commit.

For an outside observer, it is doubtful whether this fundamental problem can be solved by some exercise in communications, like the letter sent by Pope Francis to all the “faithful”.

If the Catholic Church is not going to clean with fire and from the ground up the ways and structures by which the ideals it supposedly proclaims get to be carried out in practice, then it will end up totally discredited. First and foremost, it needs to prioritise the elimination of the impunity enjoyed by the sacerdotal strata. That is what some Nonconformist “sects” did.

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Welding

A man came to tell me about an aspiration of his that had persisted throughout his life. I admired him for it. Over the years, he had learnt a skill at his place of work, had studied and obtained the necessary qualifications relative to it, had then gone on to teach the skill that had become his: welding. Teaching it as a trade to young people gave him much satisfaction. He reviewed with enthusiasm the successes achieved by some of the apprentices he had worked with.

He continued as an instructor eventually parttime till some time ago, he was relieved of all duties by school heads. He offered to continue providing instructioneven free of charge, but was repeatedly rejected. Even the Ombudsman failed to support him.

He wanted my advice: what could he do?

I asked about his age. He replied he was past eighty.

My advice was for him to give up. Nobody is going to back him because he had become too old.

I’m still unhappy with what I had to tell him. Is it not possible for a citizen like this to find where (with some NGO if not a government entity) he could satisfy this urge to be of help to others wishing to learn a useful trade, one that is declining in this country?

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Notice

I still cannot understand much of the story regarding the notice establishing new employment regulations that was published apparently without anybody concerned on the business side knowing about it or even being aware of it.

As far as I could see, the alarm was raised… if it was such… in an article that appeared in a daily newspaper, written by a lawyer specializing in employment regulations. He referred to what had appeared in the Government Gazette. If I understood the story, up to that point the organizations that represent the business sector were totally out of the picture. Then within twenty four hours, they all came out to condemn the notice. A polemic ensued: had they been consulted prior to publication or not?

My suspicion is that the business assocations need to improve strongly the methods by which they monitor economic management and changes in the rules that are introduced in this area. Many changes reflect decisions that have been taken at a European level. About them, it is not just the government that has got to do its homework, but the business organizations as well. Are they really doing so?