Archbishop Charles Scicluna said yesterday that gay conversion therapy was a “no go”, amidst criticism of a recent Curia position paper on the issue.
Mgr Scicluna told the Times of Malta that conversion therapy, a practice aimed at turning homosexuals straight, did not respect human dignity.
“Any conversion therapy which forces someone to go against their decisions or their life choices is just a no go – a no go – and I want this to be absolutely clear,” he said.
A Church committee on Saturday published a paper on the proposed legislation criminalising the controversial therapy.
“It is as if being gay is a sickness
The paper, drafted by a team of experts including former European Human Rights Court judge Giovanni Bonello and Law Faculty dean Kevin Aquilina, concluded that the anti-gay-conversion Bill violated human rights because it afforded homosexuality superior status over heterosexuality.
The paper also argued that a ban on gay conversion therapy would violate a person’s right to receive treatment from a health professional. The team also included theology faculty dean Fr Emmanuel Agius, Fr Paul Galea and Fr George Grima.
The LGBT community and the Malta Gay Rights Movement labelled the paper “fundamentally flawed”.
Mgr Scicluna, however, urged the public to read the document in its entirety before drawing any conclusions.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday also stepped into the fray, saying he was “immensely disappointed” with the Church’s position.
Describing it as a “belief from the dark ages”, Dr Muscat said the Church paper equated homosexuality to sickness and also drew links to paedophilia.
“It is as if being gay is a sickness that requires medicine or therapy… this is a big offence not only to homosexuals but to all those who aspire to live in European society,” he said.
The government would be moving ahead with the law just the same, he added.
Reacting, a Curia spokesman said the paper did not equate homosexuality with illness or paedophilia. “To do so would be irresponsible or at best misinformed,” he said.
Mgr Scicluna said he would be meeting with the team behind the document in the coming days to discuss the reaction of the public.
The issue was first thrust into the national spotlight last year after this newspaper interviewed a gay man who had undergone the therapy. The 28-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had attended two counselling sessions with psychologist Mariella Blackman several years ago.
He said Ms Blackman, a popular television psychologist and the wife of controversial evangelist Gordon Manché, had started treating him after a faith conversion event entitled ‘Gay no more’ in 2011.
Ms Blackman denied the allegations.
The interview prompted Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli to appoint a team to draft legislation on the practice.