The concept of a secular state in the EU

Francis Saliba (December 2) cannot (or refuses to) understand the concept of a secular state in secular EU.

Chapter 1, article 2 of the Malta Constitution is what Dr Saliba uses as a crutch. Ambiguously, Malta also declared itself a secular state; so, secularists and Catholics grab the part that suits them. (I read a piece by Victor Ragonesi about the Machiavellian, but brilliant, way this article was manoeuvred into the Constitution by the PN.)

How can there be a "state religion" in a secular state? That's neither fish nor fowl; such a thing isn't logically possible, a doomed concept. A state cannot in this day and age credibly surrender its responsibilities to any religion, especially one with such an abominable track record as the Catholic Church, with the duty and right to teach (control) what's right or wrong. That went out with the un-Holy Inquisition.

Enshrining the provision of religious teaching as part of compulsory public education is tantamount to enshrining compulsory religious instruction.

Chapter 1, article 2 is a large weed for someone in the EU to cut down and must eventually be removed root and branch.

But even removing this nonsense takes years, Catholics will, in the meantime, likely continue to rebel and join the human stampede away from the Church.

Neither does it matter a bean how large the "company" with whom Dr Saliba shares his beliefs is. They cannot impose their belief on one, single, solitary citizen as the ECHR just ruled.

Neither he nor his "company" can ever silence a Maltese citizen wherever that citizen chooses to live. A citizen has the same rights and a vote as anyone else.

Not surprisingly, Dr Saliba's dogmatic attitude is out of synch with Fr Mark Montebello's persuasive logic; which, unlike Dr Saliba's, struck a chord with many readers.

I'm only interested in secularist freedom and civil rights; it doesn't concern me one iota whether the Church wins converts or loses them.

It seems the Curia could do worse than to listen to the Fr Montebello types; but I'll bet it won't. So it's in for another "bastunata" (caning).