Curia distances itself from priest's testimony

The Curia yesterday distanced itself from the testimony of Fr Joe Abela, the Church's film classification board chairman, on the banned play Stitching, saying his views did not reflect the Church's values.

It issued a statement clarifying that Fr Abela was giving witness on his "own initiative and was not representing the board".

"The board, being of the Church, is expected to be a voice reflecting the Church's Christian values for the good of the Maltese; Fr Abela was not reflecting the values upheld by the Church," the Curia said.

Fr Abela told the court on Friday he would have approved the controversial play Stitching for adult viewing because he believed mature people should be free to watch it - he would have rated it 18 R and not banned the play.

Unifaun Theatre was planning to stage the play in February but was banned by the Board of Film and Stage Classification, a decision that sparked indignation. With no solution in sight, Unifaun took the board, headed by Therese Friggieri, to court to try and overturn the decision.

During a hearing, Fr Abela said: "As a free person you should have the right to watch the play. The play also helped me to better understand the suffering of grieving parents who lost a child."

The Curia said the Church was considering the court case as a civil one, held in the context of the wishes and decisions of the people.

"The... Church does not want to enter into the merits of this particular case, except by reiterating its principles of ethical values which she has always presented to her members and to society," it said.

Fr Abela's testimony was described as "sensible" by those who commented on timesofmalta.com and the majority backed the arguments he made in court.