An ethical code

I consider The Da Vinci Code to be both great entertainment value and also to be a stepping-stone to greater religious faith.

As Maltese, we should particularly welcome this discussion on the sacred feminine. We live on islands that still bear the remains of 50 Neolithic temples. Personally, I find it fascinating that God used to be represented in Malta and Gozo in a female form. Aren't you interested in knowing what happened to make people change their idea of God from the feminine, as creation, fertility and abundance, into that of a strict, punishing male father figure? The Maltese megalithic temples had a general fertility function that included both masculine and feminine elements.

Our word for God, Alla, combines both the masculine principle in AL and the feminine principle in LA, which shows that the early Maltese had a more balanced and less gender-specific view of the divine than we do today. The branding of God as being either male or female can be interpreted as either gender's wish to gain, and keep, power.

The Da Vinci Code has brought to the woman in the street a story that has been going around for years. Books about the Knights Templar and the Freemasons usually deal with a similar theme. I don't know what the real truth is. However, it is so easy to believe that the Catholic Church could have been as manipulative as The Da Vinci Code implies, precisely because there have been so many cover-ups over the centuries regarding atrocities carried out by members of the clergy. Isn't it evil to sexually assault children? Isn't it evil to manipulate someone on their deathbed to sign over their property to you?

We talk so much about transparency in politics but don't we also need transparency in religious matters? Yes, if there has been a cover-up all these years, we deserve to know. If there hasn't, then perhaps it is time to prove it, too. No-one should have anything to fear. So what if our cultural foundations are shaken? Surely what will follow will be a strengthening of faith, which is the true aim of religion.

The rules by which we abide to our Catholic religion may change over the years, while the essential message does not. We can survive change. In the end, what matters is that we all learn to live lives rooted in love, in real respect for each other.

We spend so much time discussing problems and in criticism. It is easy to get caught up by the printed word, by powerful visual images such as those presented by the Da Vinci Code. The people coming to our shores seeking refuge are the real test of our religious convictions. What would Jesus do? Will the history that is being lived as we speak, have to be covered up?