From Mr M. Grima

Despite Michael Asciak’s dismissive attitude in his letter “Daphne’s article is three years late” (TMIS, 25 November), I wish to express my gratitude to Daphne Caruana Galizia for pointing out that the chairman of Malta’s Bioethics Committee is a member of Opus Dei. I was unaware of this important fact. He is of course entitled to believe what he wants, but, due to his position of influence on bioethical matters, these beliefs may have consequences for local legislation in this field. Our lives may be directly affected as a result.

It was depressing, but not really surprising, to read Dr Asciak’s claim to superiority in moral matters (“There is a false claim that it is not right for lay Catholics to impose their morality on someone else”). When a Member of Parliament expresses a desire to impose his ideas of morality on others, you might be forgiven for thinking that we live in a totalitarian State. Reading Dr Asciak, it should come as no surprise that Opus Dei couldn’t seem to shake off its links with Franco’s fascist regime in Spain. To quote the Opus Dei spokesman in the UK, “Opus Dei is filed under F for Franco”.

Let’s examine one piece of “morality” derived from Catholic dogma, to which, presumably, members of Opus Dei are expected to adhere; Catholic missionaries preach about the sinfulness of condom-use in sub-Saharan African villages, where, in some cases, the only source of education is the missionaries themselves. In a continent ravaged by AIDS, preaching this type of message is immoral, even genocidal.

In the USA, where the Christian right wields great influence those, who like Dr Asciak claim to know the mind of the creator of the universe, inflict more outrageous immorality on the population. The sexually transmitted Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is strongly linked to cervical cancer. A vaccine exists which produces 100 per cent immunity. According to the New York Times, pious American legislators have resisted a nationwide vaccination programme on the grounds that the virus acts as a valuable impediment to the temptation of pre-marital sex. It is estimated that 4,000 American women die each year unnecessarily as a result.

By all means let the Christian Churches teach abstinence to African villagers and American teenagers, but let them not pretend that they have some sort of monopoly on morality, or that their morality is so superior that they have the right to impose it, by law, on others.

Mark Grima

ST JULIAN’S