Your liberal, secular, modernising government has just spent €32,000 on rosaries, flown them to Rome for blessing and back as handouts of the state

Who even has these ideas?

Minister Michael Falzon, the fireworks afficionado whose political career somehow survived the Gaffarena scandal, told MP Karol Aquilina today 2,000 elderly residents of geriatric state institutions are now the proud owners of rosary beads blessed by the Pontifex Maximus himself.

He was replying on behalf of his assistant, Tony Agius Decelis whose brilliant idea this probably was.

If that gives them comfort I have no objection. But is this something the State should really interfere in with tax money?

If the rosaries sound strikingly expensive, the information is misleading. There’s a stock of 1,000 rosaries stored somewhere for future use.

So 10 euro per rosary is the final rate. And who can put a price on a Papal blessing?

Look where our republic’s gone.