President on Pope's vision

Raphael Vassallo

Apr 21st 2010, 11:12

I think you will find it was the Catholics who made most noise (not sound) over the past two weeks.

John Ebejer

Apr 22nd 2010, 21:11

Wow, Raphael, that was a good one, oh that wasa good one! Heh heh heh!!!!!

Mike F Abbot

Apr 21st 2010, 20:43

Well done Joe!

"the infallible teaching of the Catholic Church"

spoken like a true extremist. The majority of Maltese and Gozitans must be proud of you.

Raphael Vassallo

Apr 20th 2010, 20:35

As a matter of fact one of the aims of the Malta Humanist Association is to campaign for the abrogation of Article 2.1 of the Constitution.

www.maltahumanist.org

Joe Zammit

Apr 20th 2010, 23:08

Raphael Vassallo, you would be successful if the majority of Maltese and Gozitans did not remain Catholic.

Raphael Vassallo

Apr 21st 2010, 11:39

Joe Zamit: you are wrong on two counts.

1. The fact that one is one is Catholic does not necessarily mean that one approves of Article 2 - I know plenty of practising Catholics who would applaud its removal from the Constitution.

2. There is a basic human rights issue at stake here. As your own comments suggest, this clause is currently being used as a weapon to subjugate minority views. John Stuart Mill once wrote that democracy cannot mean that the majority lords over all minorities all the time - otherwise it will cease to be a democracy, and instead turn into a 'tyranny of the majority'. I believe the European Court of Human Rights will agree.

Edric Micallef Figallo

Apr 23rd 2010, 12:34

Malta is a Catholic tyranny! Get real. Malta is democratic, and truth is democracy in a historically Catholic country is being reflected. Minorities? Since when the majority should deny its vision, its identity (not to mention that of the whole nation for anyone with a little historical grasp), for the minority. If anything, the tyranny of the minority perhaps is what some envision.

A great majority of Catholic people expressed itself. This majority often leaves a noisy and whimsical anti-Catholic minority sound as if it is way more substantial and representative than it in fact is amongst our people.

Most Maltese have spoken in a public manifestation of welcome in relation to the Pope. Needless to say, some people are left with sour grapes after this experience. Including the Maltese Humanist Association which would expect the president to be "neutral", meaning that he should discard the long held Catholic heritage and identity of our nation to please a minority that rows against it and is imbued with a negative demeanour in relation to Roman Catholicism. Of course, they want us to ape other European societies rather than be our Maltese selves. You got the answer, no thanks.

Edric Micallef Figallo

Apr 23rd 2010, 12:43

Also, Catholics against article 2 of the Constitution are strange fellows. Unless they want to remove that article to please the "enemy" and hope that he will halt his attacks, rather than face them, they are astounding. In politics, Catholics are called by the Church's social doctrine to shape society according to their Faith, which includes a respect for fundamental rights arising out of natural law (not the ECHR bogus decision in Lautsi v. Italy in relation to the crucifix for example).

Plus, if such Catholics who gave in to liberal argumentation exist, there are also non-Catholics that have no problem towards article 2 of the Constitution. Frankly, it is such a tyrannical annoyance that most of our people probably don't even know it exists!

Finally, well said to the President. One cannot please all and no matter what stand he'll always face some opposition. At least in this question he knows how to give recognition to our heritage, identity and the thoughts of a majority that for a reasonable man is neither tyrannical nor oppressive of any minority which tries to victimis itself to gain some moral high ground through pity or ill-conceived indignation.