When we were little, a girl came over at the playground and informed a group of tiny us that whenever we were to hear the word ‘devil’, we had to quickly make the sign of the cross so as to scare him off.
We all listened to her wide-eyed. We all nodded. She sounded like she knew what she was talking about. We followed her lead, that day, that year and for many years after that. In fact, to this day, I have to fight off the automatic urge to raise my right hand on my forehead when I hear the word ‘devil’.
Now it so happened that this year my daughter’s catechist was one of those who repeatedly told her class of seven-year-olds that “naughty people go to hell” and that “it’s terrible there, in hell”.
They were also drilled on how the “devil is always watching” and when they do something mischievous, such as chatting to their friend sitting next to them, “it’s the devil working through you”. [Sign of the Cross].
When psychiatrist Anton Grech highlighted the problem of an increasing number of children who have an irrational fear of hell in The Sunday Times of Malta a couple of years ago, I never for a minute imagined I’d find myself having to pull one such catechist to one side and point out that religion through fear is something reminiscent from two centuries ago.
Not that it made any difference of course. Fires, horns and sticks stayed the order of the day. And every time my upset daughter shared the content of the lesson, every time I had to make the Sign of the Cross, mentally, speedily.
In the end, we had a happy discussion about afterlife. I told my daughter that that none of us really knows where we go after life but the most important thing is not what happens when we die but what we do when we’re alive.
After a long silence, my daughter said: “God is a very good God. I don’t think it’s true there is hell. I think there is a special place in heaven for bad people and they will have teachers to teach them how to be good.”
Fair enough.
Then she said: “But just in case, I’m going to stick my fingers in my ears every time someone mentions the devil.” [Sign of the Cross]
In any case, the whole point of this is to show that there are still quite a few community leaders out there who embrace an antiquated form of Catholicism.
And catechists are not the only problem. Priests, judging from the sermons I listened to this year, can be equally out of touch.
“When you are depressed or going through a difficult moment, it’s pointless going to these psychotherapists, it’s useless swallowing pills: the real peace will come from embracing Jesus Christ,” barked, red-faced, one priest during Mass. You could almost hear people going home and tragically flushing their medicine in the loo because of one irresponsible orator.
The Church and its various branches are out of touch with reality. Just go out there
In another sermon, another (young) priest spoke of how women at home prepared the borma and when their husbands arrived home, they started nagging them.
I don’t remember how he linked it to the readings, but I remember looking around me: it was a chapel full of working women. Who on earth was he referring to? Now before I go on, let me say that I am not anti-clerical and I believe in the Church’s value in society, namely that it upholds a much important sense of community. However, it is very clear that most church figures communicate off-key messages. Forget hell, borom and false medical advice, here are some suggestions church community leaders can talk about in their Sunday sermons:
Obesity. We are a nation obsessed with the ‘all-inclusive eat-as-much-as-you-can’. We like stuffing our faces and the cheaper the food, the more we shove in our mouths and wash it down with unhealthy soft drinks because we feel like we’re making a bargain.
Mental health. What better place than the pulpit to advertise help lines? Encouraging audiences to reach out and seek professional help should be the order of the day.
Racism. When are we going to have church leaders using their influence to talk about migrants and the ever-increasing rate of racism on these islands? Why don’t they talk about how Malta is not the centre of the world? Why don’t they put our lives in a context and talk about what is happening in Syria, Gaza, Libya? Why don’t they give website tips and encourage people to read up?
Showing respect to one another. They can talk about equality, childcare sharing and how we should all strive to bring sexism to an end. They could tackle the importance of manners, of humour, of taking life with a pinch of salt.
The Church and its various branches are out of touch with reality. All it takes is going out there and listening to what people’s concerns are and then talking about them. As they say, the devil is in the detail. [Sign of the Cross]
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Twitter: @KrisChetcuti