Do not impose religion (1)

Certain groups want to impose their religious beliefs on all the people. This is a very dangerous situation that will backfire in the short run. History has been very clear about what results when religious fanatics take over, directly or indirectly, the administration of a country.

For the record, the inquisition was the “fight on heretics”, with the use of torture. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy and also on offences against canon law. When the institutions of the Church felt themselves threatened by what they perceived as the heresy and schism they reacted out of proportion. Pope Paul III established a system of tribunals, administered by the “Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition” and staffed by cardinals and other Church officials. This system would later become known as the Roman Inquisition.

A 1578 handbook for inquisitors spelled out the purpose of inquisitorial penalties: “...for punishment does not take place primarily and per se for the correction and good of the person punished, but for the public good in order that others may become terrified and weaned away from the evils they would commit”. Therefore inquisition became a terrorist movement. Thus let no one be scandalised by the Islamic terrorist movements. Many resent the way Shari’ah is imposed with stoning to death, mass killings of innocent people and other “barbaric” actions; it allows for cruel injustices to take place in the name of religious beliefs. What is the difference between Shari’ah and the methods used by the inquisition?

I am Catholic because I want to be a follower of Christ. It is in my duty to follow his teachings, but this does not give me the right to impose it on others. Religious beliefs are purely liberal. Every person is born free and no religion can take away his freedom. Even Jesus himself had stated that the bad (evil) should not be removed from the righteous but that eventually there will be the final judgement. By what right can the no movement dictate how people live? I venture to state that these are bigots as they want to oppose the proposed Maltese law, but at the same time do nothing about foreign divorces and many other actions that go diametrically opposite to Christ’s teachings. If the no movements were to unite as a “justice for all” movement I would be the first to support them but they are being selective in their condemnations. Is this the way to follow Christ and His teachings?

The question of divorce is now purely political. Some religious fanatics have been duped into it to support a hidden and underhand political move. It is irrelevant if divorce was to be legalised in Malta. Some can obtain it from abroad; many just move out of the matrimonial home and seek cohabitation. What is the difference? Children born in wedlock and the others born to cohabitating couples are always children. Shall we revert to the cruel practice when illegitimate children could not be ordained priests?