Court evidence: Bondi claims rights violation
Broadcaster Lou Bondi arguedtoday that a non-Catholic person was not prohibited from taking an oath in court in line with the Catholic religion as long as he felt bound by that oath.
The argument was presented in court by Mr Bondi's lawyer in reply to questions raised over whether it was correct that Mr Bondi, a self-confessed atheist, kissed the cross before giving testimony in court.
Toni Abela had raised the issue in a libel case instituted by Mr Bondí himself against former Labour MP Wenzu Mintoff over comments he made on a television show in 2007.
In his replies to Dr Abela's submission today, Mr Bondi's lawyer, Anthony Cremona, accused Dr Abela of breaching Mr Bondi's human rights by making him declare his beliefs in courts.
Dr Abela, they said, had not been clear in what he wanted the court to do and what were the legal consequences of Mr Bondi's previous declaration.
They argued that a non-Catholic person was not prohibited from taking an oath in line with the Catholic religion as long as witness felt bound by that oath.
Moreover, the cross did not only represent religious principles when it was out of a place used for adoration. It also represented important secular values. So there was no reason for the court to declare the proceedings null because of the oath he (Mr Bondi) had taken.
In his rebuttal Dr Abela said he was contesting the procedural element and not the religious one.
He said he was not saying that Mr Bondi lied under oath.
"I am saying that I believed that what he testified, he testified correctly as he felt right."
However, he added, the credibility of the witness was intrinsically linked to what he believed in and this was the distinction which had to be made between lying under oath and how a person took an oath.
The court gave Dr Abela two weeks to present the court with written submissions.
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36 Comments
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John Joseph Francis
Oct 27th 2011, 13:28
was he being 'coached' ?
William Flynn
Oct 26th 2011, 22:41
An atheist should never be asked to swear on a cross or a bible. Secular countries have oaths of affirmation which are simple and just as binding as any Catholic oath.
Might as well swear on a book of Cinderella and the Seven Dwarfs or a model of Luke SkyWalker.
Francis Saliba M.D.
Oct 27th 2011, 19:02
@ William Flynn
An atheist who has no objection to swear an oath on the cross in a Maltese Law Court should not be prevented from doing so by a foreign resident from Australia.
Mr Joseph Carmel Chetcuti
Oct 26th 2011, 21:16
In taking an oath "on a cross" does it necessarily infer that one believes that Jesus is God? After all there are many others who see Jesus in different ways - a Jewish prophet, a (Jewish) messiah, a failed Jewish prophet and on and on! I find it funny that the oath, as practised in Malta, is in line with the Catholic religion. So Catholics now own not only Jesus but also the cross!
Mr Joseph Carmel Chetcuti
Oct 27th 2011, 03:15
Oh, just in case some readers do not know, Jesus was a Jew - not a Christian and certainly not a Catholic. But why bother with such details!
Francis Saliba M.D.
Oct 27th 2011, 20:07
Jesus was the Jewish founder of a religion that he did not name but was soon named Christianity as early as the writing of the Acts of the Apostles. The need to use nomenclature to differentiate between Christianity and Catholiism did not arise for centuries.
We should bother about "such details" if we want to be taken seriously.
john vella
Oct 26th 2011, 20:14
I assume Lou has grown accustomed to talking down to the public, commonly talks too low at last, and becomes merely barbaric and unintelligible.
How can such talk hold into believing that an oath taking by kissing the cross has the same value for a self confessed atheist as a true Christian?
Joseph Mifsud
Oct 26th 2011, 19:38
Anyone who is going to take an oath must declare if he is a Christian a Muslim or an Atheist before taking an oath. Mr Bondi insulted the Catholic religion in kissing the cross, because for him that's a piece of wood and metal. Even if Mr Bondi doesn't beleive in God he asked God who was present at the time of the incident in question to be his witness.
Lately I saw a documentary on Quantum Mechanics something physicist can't find it's laws but know that it's the mechanism our mind work with. they know that any decision we make is registered somewow and somewhere in the universe. This made me see the gospel in a new light, time will come when we see religion and political ideologies differently.
Mary Ann Borg
Oct 26th 2011, 19:31
Insomma, never a dull moment bil-Labour prezenti
cesco di luigi
Oct 26th 2011, 19:07
If christ is the son of god and one believes that one IS god, then doesn't it follow that christ is your son, and hence does L B really need to kiss the cross?
j brincat
Oct 26th 2011, 18:46
Me thinks that Lou got himself in a rather tight corner!
No doubt he will find a lot of PN apologists who will give him a hand!
(jb)
Paul Smith
Oct 26th 2011, 18:35
Does it really matter? I don't believe in sky fairy's either, however i have sworn on the cross by kissing it whilst doing an affidavit in a Maltese court as i thought it was protocol in such a religious country.
Henry Mifsud
Oct 26th 2011, 18:29
I think that many are missing a cardinal point:
How can one expect to be trusted having said "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God", whilst kissing the Cross, when he later self-confesses publicly on TV that he is an atheist?
If Lou Bondi' stated that he was an atheist in court before he took the oath, it would have been totally different. I am sure that there exist alternative methods as to how an oath can be taken by non-Christians. The fact that he did not state so makes him non-credible.
j brincat
Oct 26th 2011, 18:13
Quote:"Broadcaster Lou Bondi argued today that a non-Catholic person was not prohibited from taking an oath in court in line with the Catholic religion as long as he felt bound by that oath"
Lo and behold a new principle has today been created, Lou's style, of course.
We might as well do away with taking an oath!
Hawwadni ha nhwadek.
(jb)
Philip Hili
Oct 26th 2011, 18:49
@ j brincat
Jekk qatt ma qbilt f'dak li tikteb, illum mhux talli naqbel mieghe 100% talli ma stajtx tikteb kumment ahjar milli ktibt. Prosit.
J. Schembri
Oct 26th 2011, 19:10
I’m not in favour of kissing crucifixes in courts!
I’d rather have someone solemnly declaring his version of events.
Who knows how many other Judas Iscariots kissed that crucifix when they knew they were going to declare downright lies before the court.
Henry Mifsud
Oct 26th 2011, 17:57
I think that many are missing a cardinal point:
How can one expect to be trusted having said "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God", whilst kissing the Cross, when he later self-confesses publicly on TV that he is an atheist?
If Lou Bondi' stated that he was an atheist in court before he took the oath, it would have been totally different. I am sure that there exist alternative methods as to how an oath can be taken by non-Christians. The fact that he did not state so makes him non-credible.
Philip Hili
Oct 26th 2011, 17:51
"They argued that a non-Catholic person was not prohibited from taking an oath in line with the Catholic religion as long as witness felt bound by that oath."
Dalwaqt xi whud mill-avukati jibdew nirragunaw li fl-ghodu huwa bil-lejl u bil-lejl huwa fil-ghodu.
Tifilhu tghaddu izjed in-nies biz-zmien? Irrispettaw ftit l-inteligenza tal-poplu Malta please!!!!!
Philip Hili
Oct 26th 2011, 17:46
Mela dan kollu qziez.
Readers, please stop watching "Where's Everbody? programs. Give him a lesson.
As it stands now, what do you pretend "a self-confessed atheist" to produce on TV?
Thalluhx jitmaghkom iktar gushen !!!
DR EMMANUEL BEZZINA,MA,MAG.JUR.[EU Law],LL.D.,
Oct 26th 2011, 17:37
All this is pure nonsense - believe in yourself, make your path righteous, link yourself to the Universe,and voila` you are Cosmic Divinity.....................you become yourself the epicentre of your beliefs: of course re the issue hereunder being discussed.......most are aware that this is no more than part of a charade ,as there are some mortals who divinely believe that they can easily dishonour another individual and harm one`s integrity,then bring them to Court and they resort to these charades regularly to delay and waste precious time: these are the social cowards not necessarily referring to the case in discussion.
The truth..the truth..all that matters is the TRUTH:..............................Cosmic Divinity.
j brincat
Oct 26th 2011, 19:17
I am in the Cosmos when I receive the utility bills 'ghax aqta' kemm nara stillel madwari'!
(jb)
Carmel Zammit
Oct 26th 2011, 17:28
An oath is defined as “A solemn, formal declaration or promise to fulfill a pledge, often calling on God, a god, or a sacred object as witness.” (the freedictionary.com). How can one call God as witness when according to one God does not exist?
Chris Gatt
Oct 26th 2011, 19:23
Ithink you will find the key word here is 'often'. You do not have to kiss any cross when taking an oath in Malta. should Iknow. I never did. I find it strange that Lou felt obliged to do so. I suppose it was easier, as a well known public figure, to avod people's tongues wagging to go with the flow.
Rememeber the fuss people made when lLfred Sant did not kiss the cross on taking the oath?
This is why I find the Labour Party's (and in particular Tony Abela's) reaction so hypocritical . Perhaps that is why his complaint is so ambiguous. What exactly is he objecting to?
pat muscat
Oct 26th 2011, 16:59
Bondi could have taken an oat on the constitution and nothing would have come of it.
Ivan Mizzi
Oct 26th 2011, 16:55
Even though I don't believe in God, I consider myself to be a
Roman Catholic.
Chris Gatt
Oct 26th 2011, 19:24
Not sure I can even begin to understand that.
Ah well, what can I say? Thank God, I'm an aethist.
Jeffrey Mallia
Oct 26th 2011, 19:44
How can that be ???? !!!!
Andrew Gatt
Oct 26th 2011, 16:52
A Teletubi monemt if there ever was one.
What a waste of time.
DAVID D. PACE
Oct 26th 2011, 15:47
possibli t-tmexxija tal-partit nazzjonalista ghadha ma ndunatx li LOU BONDI qed jirnexxielu jressaq aktar nies lejn il-PL? Bondi sar il- MANWEL CUSCHIERI tal-partit ta Gonzi!!
anthony farrugia
Oct 26th 2011, 16:11
Mela l-Manwel Cuschieri keccewh tal-Labour?
Godfrey Camilleri
Oct 26th 2011, 16:22
Ma nahsibx tafx; nahseb li Dr Abela jibqa wiehed mil old guard li jibqa jirnexxilu ibighed in-nies mil-PL!
Daniel Goggi
Oct 26th 2011, 16:25
The difference is that whereas Mr. Cuschieri was officially representing the PL on PL media and was an active member too, Mr. Bondi no longer represents PN nor is he employed by the PN media.
Philip Hili
Oct 26th 2011, 17:40
VERY WELL SAID. PROSIT!
Ms.D. Galea
Oct 26th 2011, 15:34
The Atheists in Italy were amongst the most vociferous of protesters when Adel Smith of Italy years ago tried to make Italians remove the cross from public places by court order. Their reason was that the cross in Europe is not just ANY religious symbol and forthermore, it is one of the main TRADITIONAL symbols of European civilization and history.
Paul Barrett
Oct 26th 2011, 15:32
The form of oath in itself is irrelevant as a liar will lie, oath or not. The important thing is that the individual is cautioned and under no allusion that if he/she does not tell the truth and is then proved to have knowingly lied, they will face punishment on earth.
HENRY FENECH AZZOPARDI
Oct 26th 2011, 16:58
I fully agree to your submitions whether one is an atheist or not giving false testimmony is still penalised by law. The fact that one is a non believer he still has to come up with the truth or face the consequences. In my opinion Dr Abela is just trying to find ways how to discredit the witness.