Separation of Church and state

“It is imperative to separate religion from state matters.” This was stated by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference meeting in Lahore, Pakistan. Addressing concerns in that country, the Pope urged Pakistan to repeal its blasphemy laws.

In Egypt, Coptic Christians – with the support of the Catholic Church – are calling for the removal of Article 2 from the country’s constitution, which states that “Islam is the religion of the state... and the principal source of legislation is Islamic jurisprudence (Sharia).”

Sounds familiar? And yet, in Malta, where the Church is happily in bed with the state, we’re hearing of dire warnings about secularism and the terrible calamities it might bring.

A secular state is a state where religion is practised freely and where there is no religious discrimination (which includes positive discrimination). In a secular state, the Church has exactly the same standing in the eyes of the law as any other religion or group.

I can understand how an entity that is enjoying privileged status would not wish to lose it, but the Catholic Church’s experiences in Pakistan and other places should have opened its eyes.

In a secular state, the Church will still have its churches, its schools and its various organisations and orders. It will still have as many followers as before, since this is not determined by either law or constitution.

Malta’s secular credentials are sullied if not directly contradicted by several of our laws. One such law came into the spotlight recently, as the Ecclesiastical Tribunal’s precedence over the civil courts was examined critically.

Our Constitution declares that Malta has a religion – Catholicism. It furthermore obliges Catholic dogma to be taught as part of “compulsory education”, although in practice, non-Catholic students are not obliged to attend these lessons, and actually gives the Church the right to teach what is right and what is wrong – which translates into teaching what the Church agrees and disagrees with.

These and other laws create a problem. Our Constitution declares that we respect religious freedom, yet a person can be forced to submit to a Church tribunal’s decision against his or her wishes in separation proceedings. Our students cannot currently opt for a non-Catholic education in ethics or comparative religion... I hope that will be addressed soon.

Malta needs to be a secular state and this requires a revision of several of its laws. I hope that our Members of Parliament do not cower before such a duty. Unlock the handcuffs that bind the state to the Church and the Church to the state.