Commenting in the last issue of The Spectator, Fraser Nelson reminded us that this year marks the millennium “since the sermon given in 1014 by Archbishop Wulfstan in York where he declared that ‘the world is in a rush and is getting close to its end’”.
Nelson goes on to say that “ever since, people (especially clergy) have had a similar story to tell: the world is moving too fast, people are too selfish and things are going to the dogs. The truth is that the world is in a better shape now than any time in history – a claim which may sound bizarre, but it’s borne out by the facts”.
He then goes on to publish some data from Steven Pinker’s book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (2011), which I had referred to here some time ago, that we are in the most peaceful age in modern history and that what is going wrong with the world is outweighed by what is going right. In spite of the violence which makes headlines every day, we are living in a comparatively humane society.
But it’s true, shock and bad news make better copy.
This reminded me of the gloom and doom surrounding the news that the Pope was reportedly “shocked” when he heard of our civil union Bill, as reported on the front page of The Sunday Times of Malta: “The Pope is ‘shocked’ by Malta’s Civil Unions Bill, which will allow gay couples to adopt children”.
Of course this is parsimony with the truth. As I explained in Parliament, gay persons already may adopt as singles, which by the way, is a legal obligation on us emanating from a European Court of Human Rights judgment. With the civil union bill, scrutiny of those applying for adoption will be tightened, since a couple in a civil union will both have to appear before the adoptions board, as opposed to one person, as is the practice today.
Thus the law will not “allow” gay couples to adopt, but makes them eligible to appear before the adoptions board as a couple, not just as singles.
Therefore, unlike what is being declared by those who want to sensationalise the issue, and maybe even ‘shock’ us, access to adoption will become stricter and the interests of the child further protected. It will continue to be the task of professionals to evaluate prospective parents be they heterosexual, gay, single, married or in a civil union.
We must also factor in that not only is current law ill-equipped to deal with the complexity and diversity of modern family life, there are European Court rulings on discrimination against gay people, even on matters of adoption.
We will still be around after the Civil Unions Bill becomes law
The Pope’s alleged ‘shock’ at the distorted information that “Malta’s Civil Unions Bill will allow gay couples to adopt children”, instead of the actual fact that gay couples will become eligible to apply for adoption, went viral and was quoted in various newspapers. For instance in The Telegraph, Damian Thompson writes “Indeed, the Pope was ‘shocked’ to learn that Malta’s proposed Civil Union bill allows gay adoption. And Bishop Scicluna’s controversial sermon seems to have been delivered at his prompting”.
When issues are confounded, only God may know what the intentions might be.
But then again we must know where to draw the line, and take action as is our duty. The Church is the Church, the State is the State. When, on the topic of same-sex union, former Irish President Mary McAleese (who signed the Bill in 2010) was accused by Cardinal Bernard Law of being “a very poor Catholic president”, she had told the Cardinal, who resigned in 2002 over his mishandling of a child abuse scandal: “I am not a Catholic President, I’m President of Ireland where there are all sorts of people. I’m their President. I happen to be Catholic.”
One thousand years ago Bishop Wulfstan predicted that the world was nearing its end. Three years ago, some told us that the end is nigh if Malta introduced divorce legislation.
We are still here and probably we will still be around after the Civil Unions Bill becomes law.
Helena Dalli is Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties.