FR DAVID MUSCAT: THE MALTESE PROPHET WHO TOLD US SO

by a Blog Reader

In November 2019, Fr David Muscat raised a storm when he predicted that a massive influx of foreigners would come to Malta for work. Not one for holding back the truth, he predicted that foreigners would soon outnumber the Maltese, an influx which he described as an “invasion.” Hell broke loose about his comments. The press went bananas. A pack of wolves bayed for his ostracism. The witch-hunt was on. We Maltese would always remain a majority, just bring in more immigrants, the press counterargued. Joseph Muscat, then prime minister, contacted the Archbishop to protest about the priest. The Archbishop knocked on the priest’s door.

Fr David Muscat

Fast forward three and a half years. Just a few days ago, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced to a stunned nation that the way things are going, Malta’s influx of foreigners is about to surpass all previous expectations. The population is about to double to 800,000. This means that foreigners will outnumber the Maltese in the foreseeable future. The government has been caught flat out, unprepared for this. Mere reforms won’t cut it. Structural change is necessary. Structural change means, for example, that rented flats have to make room for more bunkbeds. As if on cue, pictures appeared in the press of a flat overrun by bunkbeds. Perhaps the invasion is already in earnest.

One moment we were pelting the prophet, calling him a racism and asking that he be disciplined because we did not like his prediction. A few years later, we have the finance ministers saying the same thing. The minister is blown away by SAMM, an economic model used to predict how economies will evolve over time. The model in effect said to Malta’s Economic Policy Department, “Either you open up to an invasion of foreigners, or your current economic trajectory will collapse.” Period. It’s a Hobson’s choice. There is no room for fine-tuning.

The model took into account fertility among Maltese women. It is abysmally low. As a result, only foreign workers can keep the ship afloat. The projection would have been more dire if the model had taken abortion into account. The Maltese government has said it will introduce abortion soon. Abortions devastate society. In the United States, over 63,000,000 Americans have been aborted since Roe vs. Wade. As the Maltese proverb puts it, “Tieħu bla ma trodd is-swar tħott.” What we are about to engage in is the destruction of our own people, our precious human resources, recklessly, when we can afford it least. The finance minister should lead by example and warn the government in no uncertain terms to cast aside abortion. Abortion doesn’t just stir the wrath of God, it’s bad economic policy. We need our children more than ever.

Father David may be a harbinger of negativity. But we must approach his words with reverence, nonetheless. He may not be a diplomat. He doesn’t sugar coat his warnings with compromise. In his ultimatums, there is urgency. This disconcerts those in a position of power who want to proceed at their own pace, as it pleases them. As a Maltese justice demonstrated in court, we possess the ability to imprison Fr David and disrupt his personal life. Yet, paradoxically, we are the same Maltese who hold our martyrs in high esteem, the focal point of our festa season. We conveniently forget that these martyrs too were subjected to severe punishment for what they said. In biblical times and throughout human history, false prophets received accolades by aligning with popular beliefs. On the other hand, genuine prophets were either incarcerated, expelled, or killed.