A priest who attended the birthday party of Holocaust-denier and racist Norman Lowell, has written a 1,200-word defence of his actions on Times of Malta.

“There are many promising young souls among the 10,000 voters who opted for Imperium Europa warts and all in the last European Parliament election. Thus, I want to guide which plant will grow into a tree in order to keep it on the straight and narrow,” Fr David Muscat wrote in the article entitled Finding Reason In Madness.

In a somewhat rambling article, Fr Muscat shows no remorse about attending the birthday celebrations and says he would do it again even. He also criticises Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi for their “evil”, “anti-European” and “sinful” tax avoidance schemes that have become synonymous with Malta as a financial services jurisdiction.

Fr Muscat begins by talking about his two-bedroom maisonette in Mosta and how he lets three foreigners live there with him for free.

“This revelation about my personal life may be a surprise to many – especially those in the Catholic media who have denigrated me as a xenophobe spreading hate after attending Norman Lowell’s birthday party,” he said.

“So why on earth did I attend when I do not share many of his views including his esoteric visions, his anti-Judaism etc.? Why did I do this act of madness? I did it (and will do it again) not just to shock and awe, like the bare-breasted Femen protestors in front of Vladimir Putin who did not look the other way – I would do like him. There are other reasons.”

He then explains that July 29 is a significant date for Mosta parishioners because it coincides with the ħruġ min-niċċa, “an untranslatable term, for it is not just the physical exit from the niche of the statue of Santa Maria in preparation of the village feast”.

“But more importantly this date coincides with the first anniversary of the solemn proclamation of the elevation of Mosta parish church to the title of Minor Basilica by no less than the Archbishop. What a splendid coincidence! If only I knew that it would cause such a commotion, I would have taken with me holy water to bless Norman – he could do with a blessing.”

Fr Muscat then criticises the local Curia for “creating collegiates with their associated paraphernalia and canonries which will only serve to attract to the Church wierdos who promulgate a type of clericalism that in the future will make the problem of sexual abuse much worse”, among other things.

He then goes on to criticise Malta’s taxation schemes. “We have become so obsessed with the gaming and financial services industries that we have closed our eyes to the transformation of our country from a republic based on work to a pirate island in the Mediterranean.”

“Nobody questions whether the tax planning and avoidance schemes are sinful. They were legally created by no less than Lawrence Gonzi from Catholic Action who many regard as the bastion of Christian values. But what is legal is not necessarily moral. What Gonzi created is evil to the core and anti-European. Joseph Muscat simply exploited it.”

“We created an economic structure that needs droves and droves of foreigners to keep it running. With this perspective who is the true racist and enemy of European solidarity and cohesion? Am I racist by just stating facts? “Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Galations 4,16). But this kind of racism is like pornography … everybody secretly watches it (almost) but nobody wants to admit it in public. Then comes the addiction.”

“That is why the mainstream media denigrates Lowell,” he writes. “However, they secretly admit that Norman is appealing to many. Consequently, they denigrate him as being the court jester of Maltese politics and an asset to easily ridicule Imperium Europa.”

“Despite his oddities our local court jester managed to triple his votes.  Simultaneously, the Archbishop’s seminary and RTK radio are at their historical lows. Even Radju Marija has surpassed RTK.”

“The director of Radio Maria Italia, Fr Livio Fanzaga, said that Salvini won the election because he held the Rosary beads in his hands. The writing is on the wall. It is only a matter of time before a local version of Salvini sprouts.”

“There are many promising young souls among the 10,000 voters who opted for Imperium Europa warts and all in the last European Parliament election. Thus, I want to guide which plant will grow into a tree in order to keep it on the straight and narrow,” Fr David Muscat concludes.

What do you make of the priest’s defence?