Politics from the Confessional

Bishop Nikol Cauchi has commented that the Church has the duty to speak about divorce. “The church is not there to impose its views but to teach and speak clearly”. (Times of Malta – 01.03.09) Expect the usual controversy when the confusion between church and state matters becomes a universal concern – even for those who believe that the Catholic church has no place in society. Bishop Cauchi is right however. The Church has a duty to speak about divorce. In Catholic terms that duty is paramount, especially considering that divorce does effect one of the sacraments considered blessed by Catholics. The Church’s role in society however, must include an awareness that not everybody is a believer and that State laws are made for everybody (even minorities). That the Church is unequivocally clear on its stance on divorce and on how true believers should accept it should not mean that the church forces its members to impose their beliefs on everybody under the sun.

On a less serious but related topic here’s Bishop Mario Grech commenting on carnival celebrations:

It was shameful how several people, through their behaviour, undermined public decency and human dignity, revealing the irrationality that was so evident in today’s times. Had those involved considered their actions, he said, they would not have behaved in such a degrading manner and would have shown more respect to society. (Times of Malta – 27.02.09)

Bishop Grech was condemning “rude and offensive” behaviour on the part of people who dresed up as the risen Christ or Jesus and the Apostles during carnival. The instinctive reaction of church-bashers would be “tindahalx” (none of your business). Examine Bishop Grech’s comments as though you were seeing any other citizen airing his views (and not the head of the local Church) and you will see that there is nothing “wrong” with his statements. Here’s how he continues:

Such incidents demonstrated that society was living under “the dictatorship of relativism” where people believed they were free from all legal or ethical boundaries and could do and say what they wanted, even when this offended or hurt others. This led to people ridiculing not only matters that were sacred but their own human dignity.

There’s another Gozitan talking about relativism, must be genetic. The concern is not of a church wanting to impose a veto on people dressing up as one of its main symbols but an observation of the state of society. Both statements by Bishop Grech are an invitation to people to reflect before asserting their rights of expression. Everybody’s free so long as his freedom is not used to hurt others. Not quite the Catholic fatwa you might expect – other religions and confessional states please note. While parading through Maastricht carnival last week I joined a group of trombone revellers and singers. At one point they stopped in a corner and started playing a song that sounded very religious and I had to ask what was going on. “They are playing a song about the virgin” an old lady replied. I asked why and she pointed to a little statuette of the Virgin Mary in the corner of the street. I must confess that I was slightly shocked, thinking that this kind of petty humour would only occur in Malta between rival supporters of some saints.

“Don’t worry” she explained, “Maastricht is a Catholic bastion, we are just laughing at ourselves. the important thing is that it is funny and that nobody gets hurt”. We marched away from the statue, singing “It’s a long way to Tipperary”…. a long way, but in truth it’s a small small world.