The title of this leading article is chosen purposefully, and it is in direct response to the severely stunted and opportunistic mentality of some members of the clergy in the way the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows was celebrated.
Our Lady of Sorrows is one of the last bastions of Maltese Roman Catholic faith that seems to jog everyone into taking an active part in religious activities over Easter. Let us first put matters into context. The divorce referendum date was moved to 28 May because it was felt that the people of Malta should not be taking a decision on the matter during a religious period. This, we wholeheartedly agree with. The assumption (no pun intended) was that everyone would hold off divorce for just a week, in order to allow families to enjoy time together over the holidays and that the flock could attend religious feasts and functions without a cloud hanging over them.
Oh how wrong we were. In a good many localities around Malta, service goers were stunned into silence and disgust at the message against divorce, by the Church, on such a feast. The sentiment was echoed across the spectrum of believers – from devout practising Catholics, to occasional practising Catholics, right down to those who are now estranged from the Church.
Some suffered in silence, others simply left and expressed disgust, others called the media to complain at the hellfire and brimstone sermons and utter lack of respect to religious service, intellect and intelligence. In short, many people were outraged and the Church has continued to give valid reason to those who no longer believe in its policies, way of doing things, assumption of moral correctness and downright disregard to modern life and thought process. Let us be clear – this is about attitude and respect, not core religious beliefs.
When a substantial number of devout Catholics attend such services and walk away in disgust, then it is clear that there is a problem. This publishing house has declared its stance on divorce, and as promised, we have given space to everyone and we have reported fairly all sides of the debate. But as we also promised, we are going to exercise our right to criticise and dissect anyone or anything which we believe is wrong, degrading and, in this instance, a case of religious blackmail.
What people cannot seem to understand is the reasoning of the clergy in choosing that particular day to revert to times of the Inquisition.
We ask the Curia a very important question, and we expect an answer: “Were these sermons sanctioned and approved by the Church?” If so, then we truly do believe that Malta is regressing and regressing fast. We reiterate that the Church had no right to turn this important event for the faithful into a tirade against divorce. It is simply beyond belief that in the year 2011, a feast where the Church had an opportunity to recoup some of the massive haemorrhage that it has consistently seen over the years, was used as a platform against divorce.
Perhaps the only saving grace in all this is that it backfired and the Church would do well to acknowledge this failure to its own flock. In plain English, the attitude shown by clergy members on this day will be looked back on in history as a watershed. First we cite God as the reason for appeal against a puerile short story and now we invoke the wrath of God against divorce on Our Lady of Sorrows. There is no line between State and Religion and we are fast blurring the lines between democracy and theocracy. While all minds are on the issue of divorce, the truth is that the matter at stake is much more important – the role of Church and State in a functioning democracy. Just as Australia – cut off from the world for millennia, sprouted kangaroos, koalas and other weird and wonderful creatures – our constant refusal to integrate into the globalised world will likely do the same for us. We are putting ourselves at risk, and it will only get worse.