In the beginning it was the threat of secularism. This was then followed by the great threat of gender theory. We have now moved on to the dictatorship of relativism. This the Church has claimed. It would be apt to give a brief definition of these principles, that's what Wikipedia is for after all.
It was on the 8th September 2008 when Archbishop Cremona declared the "ideology of secularism" a threat for Christians and the Church, obviously. This came in the light of renewed discussions and interest on divorce legislation, which by the way does not exist in Malta (the only other country in the world where divorce is inexistant is The Philippines). He claimed that after divorce, abortion and euthansia will follow as if they are one and the same concept. It is this secularism, which according to the Archbishop is a powerful influence on State law that threatens to destroy the social fabric of the country. He linked the secularist ideology with that of Fascism and Nazism.
What the Archbiship forgot to mention is that the Church has in the very recent past held extraordinary powers, which have since been minutely diminished. Amongst other things he also failed to mention that the Constitution of Malta declares the Roman Catholic Apostolic Faith as the national religion (Art. 2.1); gives to the Church exclusive power to teach society right principles from wrong ones (2.2); and furthermore that Catholiscism is to be taught at State schools on a compulsory basis (2.3). He did not mention that the Church has a vast hoard of wealth, land, including radio stations, newspapers and tv channels. What he also failed to mention was that extreme political ideologies such as Fascism and Nazism or at least resembling them, of which he was so critical, are ironically the fruit of religious fundamentalism and the fear of other races, religions and cultures. One other thing. The Archbishop forgot to say that the arts are still subject to censor under those same rules existing since the 1930's.
Gender theory
According to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, the idea that one should be allowed to exrpess his masculinity or her femininity in privacy and freedom, i.e. in a way in which he or she sees fit is also a grave threat. In the same way that one must conserve the environment one should conserve gender. Although he did not say it plainly, what he did mean to say was that homosexuality is destructive. This renewed dogma was also echoed in Malta. In a time when the gay community (including Christian gays) is still trying to seek equal rights and inclusion this must have been a huge slap in the face.
Relativism
Gozitan Bishop Mario Grech has been recently infuriated at the degeneration of the Nadur Carnival festivities. Society is living under the dictatorship of relativism where people thought they were free from legal or ethical boundaries and could do what they wanted. I would like to ask the Bishop what dictatorship is he talking about. On the same day that he released this statement I had a lecture in philosophy of ethics. Does he know what the subject material is? Well, it is basically a one-sided approach praising the ethical approaches of Aristotle, Aquinas and a more contemporary philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre who lambasts modern society for failing to revive the traditional morality of Aristotle and claims that the liberalism and reliativsm emerging from the Enlightnment is the downfall of ethics and virtue. This particular subject was compulsory. I have no other choice but to take it and study it. You tell me... where does the dictatorship arise from exactly?
It seems to me that secularists, homosexuals and liberals do not even come close to being dictators. Those, like me, who fall under one such category still wonder 5 years later why on earth we joined the EU. They do not feel that the only reason was for funding and easier passage. Perhaps they sincerely believed that we would finally conform with the broad civil rights ,and to put it plainly, the common sense of our EU counter-parts. We were wrong.
Dictatorship is coming from other quarters.
- Secularism is the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs (e.g. a state that is neutral on matters of belief and gives no privileges to a specific religion or religions).
- Gender theory studies the social and cultural constructions of masculinity and femininity. It does not refer to biological difference but rather to cultural difference between the sexes (e.g. "one is not born a woman but becomes one").
- Relativism is the idea that some elements or experience of culture are relative to, i.e. dependent on, other elements or aspects (e.g. "you can't judge other cultures by the standards of your own").
It was on the 8th September 2008 when Archbishop Cremona declared the "ideology of secularism" a threat for Christians and the Church, obviously. This came in the light of renewed discussions and interest on divorce legislation, which by the way does not exist in Malta (the only other country in the world where divorce is inexistant is The Philippines). He claimed that after divorce, abortion and euthansia will follow as if they are one and the same concept. It is this secularism, which according to the Archbishop is a powerful influence on State law that threatens to destroy the social fabric of the country. He linked the secularist ideology with that of Fascism and Nazism.
What the Archbiship forgot to mention is that the Church has in the very recent past held extraordinary powers, which have since been minutely diminished. Amongst other things he also failed to mention that the Constitution of Malta declares the Roman Catholic Apostolic Faith as the national religion (Art. 2.1); gives to the Church exclusive power to teach society right principles from wrong ones (2.2); and furthermore that Catholiscism is to be taught at State schools on a compulsory basis (2.3). He did not mention that the Church has a vast hoard of wealth, land, including radio stations, newspapers and tv channels. What he also failed to mention was that extreme political ideologies such as Fascism and Nazism or at least resembling them, of which he was so critical, are ironically the fruit of religious fundamentalism and the fear of other races, religions and cultures. One other thing. The Archbishop forgot to say that the arts are still subject to censor under those same rules existing since the 1930's.
Gender theory
According to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, the idea that one should be allowed to exrpess his masculinity or her femininity in privacy and freedom, i.e. in a way in which he or she sees fit is also a grave threat. In the same way that one must conserve the environment one should conserve gender. Although he did not say it plainly, what he did mean to say was that homosexuality is destructive. This renewed dogma was also echoed in Malta. In a time when the gay community (including Christian gays) is still trying to seek equal rights and inclusion this must have been a huge slap in the face.
Relativism
Gozitan Bishop Mario Grech has been recently infuriated at the degeneration of the Nadur Carnival festivities. Society is living under the dictatorship of relativism where people thought they were free from legal or ethical boundaries and could do what they wanted. I would like to ask the Bishop what dictatorship is he talking about. On the same day that he released this statement I had a lecture in philosophy of ethics. Does he know what the subject material is? Well, it is basically a one-sided approach praising the ethical approaches of Aristotle, Aquinas and a more contemporary philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre who lambasts modern society for failing to revive the traditional morality of Aristotle and claims that the liberalism and reliativsm emerging from the Enlightnment is the downfall of ethics and virtue. This particular subject was compulsory. I have no other choice but to take it and study it. You tell me... where does the dictatorship arise from exactly?
It seems to me that secularists, homosexuals and liberals do not even come close to being dictators. Those, like me, who fall under one such category still wonder 5 years later why on earth we joined the EU. They do not feel that the only reason was for funding and easier passage. Perhaps they sincerely believed that we would finally conform with the broad civil rights ,and to put it plainly, the common sense of our EU counter-parts. We were wrong.
Dictatorship is coming from other quarters.
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