People are divided on the proclamation by Gozo Bishop Mario Grech,
who hinted that Catholics promoting divorce legislation are “wolves in
sheep’s clothing”.
Mgr Grech said those not in line with Church teachings should not
expect to receive the Eucharist, a comment which some interpreted as a
spiritual threat against those planning to vote yes in the referendum.
But while comments flooded in online to label him “intolerant”,
“ridiculous” and “arrogant”, others defended his homily on Sunday as
being in line with Church dogma.
Fr Charlo Camilleri, who last August argued that Catholic politicians
can, according to their conscience, vote in favour of divorce if
research showed it was beneficial for the common good, said the homily
had to be taken in its context.
The Bishop, he said, was speaking during the celebration of the
sacrament of confirmation, explaining the gospel of the Good Shepherd,
where Christ presents himself as the “one door”.
Bishop Grech said: “If we want to find the right door, shortly... and
adults, understand what I am trying to say... do not make a mistake,
there is only one door.”
“As an adult Christian I fully agree that there is only one door and
this is Christ. The Bishop did not limit himself to divorce. Rightly so
he stated that our faith should be translated in all spheres of our
life. You cannot call yourself a Christian, follower or disciple of
Christ and then not follow the Gospel values.”
Fr Camilleri pointed out that the discussion on divorce had
degenerated, showing that the issue at stake, “perhaps unconsciously”,
was the relationship between Church and state.
He said people in favour of divorce seemed to be very concerned about
attacking the teachings of the Church instead of sticking to their
arguments. This gave the impression they were acting out of panic and
causing confusion by mixing up the sacramental and legal definitions of
marriage. On the other hand, the Bishop made a distinction by saying
everybody had the civil right to marry but not to receive the sacrament
of marriage.
Fr Camilleri said the Church teachings on the issues of divorce and
conscience were clear and he referred to the position paper drawn up in
October by seven prominent priests. The paper concluded that Catholics
must form their conscience by keeping in mind the word of God, the
teaching of the Church and the true needs of the common good.
Those who only followed their own “feelings, thoughts and personal
advantage” should realise they were not doing their Catholic duty. “One
is responsible for such action before God and may possibly be sinning.”
Priest blogger Fr Joe Borg said he had no comment to make on the homily of Bishop Grech.
The Times asked Fr Borg if he agreed with Mgr Grech that the Church
was not being forceful enough on divorce. Fr Borg recently criticised
the movement Kristu Iva Divorzju Le, saying such an attitude built no
bridges with “all those good Catholics who favour divorce”.
Fr Borg said he stood by his comment.
“If you go through timesofmalta.com you will notice that I have been
the target of harsh criticism and personal jibes by the extremists on
both sides of the divide. It is incredible how comments one makes are
sometimes interpreted, misinterpreted, mangled and jumbled,” he said.
He added there was no need to add or clarify anything regarding the
joint declaration of the seven priests, which was also endorsed by
Archbishop Paul Cremona who, he pointed out, was also president of the
Maltese Episcopal Conference.
Historian Dominic Fenech alluded to a rift between the Church leaders of the two dioceses.
“The Church has been surprisingly circumspect as an institution and
has left the talking mostly to lay organisations of people who, although
known for their religious fervour, prefer to attack divorce legislation
from social, legal or economic angles rather than from a moral
spiritual one.
“It seems the ecclesiastical establishment is keeping on a tight
leash any priest who appears to condone divorce legislation but not
individual priests who campaign against. The Gozo Bishop now seems to
have lost his patience with such strategic subtleties.”
Asked if Bishop Grech’s statements could be legitimately perceived as
a threat, he said “it is certainly pressure” and based on a wrong
premise.
“Voting in favour of introducing divorce legislation for those who
want to use it does not deny anyone the choice of not using it if they
want to abide by the Church’s doctrine. I hardly think it is a state of
sin, even by the Church’s own rules, to favour a model of society which
is different from that which the Church wants conserved.”