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Auxiliary Bishop warns against ‘equating’ civil unions with marriage
Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna says ‘marriage is for the family’.
20 October 2013, 12:00am
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
2 min read
Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna.
Equating civil unions with marriage was "illogical" and "deceptive", according to Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna.
Referring to the Civil Liberties Act which is at its second reading in parliament, Scicluna urged MPs to engage in a thorough debate and reflection before equating civil unions with marriage.
"In a matter of days, the Maltese Parliament will be called to vote out the traditional concept of conjugality cherished by the Maltese society for millennia," Scicluna said in a letter published in The Sunday Times of Malta.
He said that up to now, Maltese society had given special legal protection and social and religious support to the conjugal union between a man and a woman "which we call marriage".
Scicluna argued that the special status of marriage emerged "from the fact that, of its very nature, by the fact that a man and a woman become one flesh, marriage is open to the gift of parenthood".
He insisted that this "special role of marriage", is one of its major contributions to the common good.
"Children born of the union between a man and a woman are ideally raised in the family which is given social recognition and support through the institute of marriage. In a nutshell, marriage is for the family. It is not simply a socially recognsied partnership," he said.
Scicluna added that the proposed Bill intended to put all this behind in the name of the asserted equality of same sex couples to couples of different sex.
"This asserted equality is a no-brainer when we deal with human dignity and the right to freedom from unjust discrimination. It does not stand the test of logic when it comes to the openness to the gift of parenthood," he said.
The essential difference between marriage and any other human partnership was the ability "to become one flesh in the mutual expression of love and the natural openness to the gift of parenthood".
"The equation approach is therefore untenable and deceptive when we try to equate same sex unions with marriage," Scicluna concluded.
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When are you going to let go. Let people live their own lives as you did by becoming a priest. Even the present pope said so , so why are you trying to twist minds to your lost cause.
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Surely not all gay decide to make the same choices as Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna and in this day and age it's incomprehensible how he writes as if values are universal and that he has a right to judge how everyone else must live their lives.
For millennia the Maltese society has cherished traditional concept that hurt and persecuted individuals and minorities like Jews, Moslems, other non Catholic Christians, women, mentally and physically challenged etc. etc. as the list is never ending. It wasn't right then but now we know and learned to understand how to be more tolerant and a more open society. Indeed our success as nation has been excepting that others are different but not that different after all. As a nation we decided to join the EU. As a nation we decided to introduce divorce. As a nation we are part of the global community. Away from the fear of hell, condemnation and the indoctrination that there's only one path to salvation we, as a secular society, have learned to be more humane and flourish by excepting others that have different values.
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While I endorse what the bishop had to say on this issue, the church has to be careful not to appear as an extension of the P.N.
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So the civil unions bill is illogical... but to teach that a round white wafer is the flesh of a man who was born from a virgin 2000 years ago and who used to walk on water, clone fish and raise people from the dead, makes perfect sense? I think that when dealing with civil rights we can do better than follow the advice of an institution that used to burn people alive and say it's ok.
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So one more Bishop is continuing the Church's penchant for hypocrisy! The Church happily marries all kinds of people who are beyond the child-bearing age, so pretending that marriage is all about children is just ONE MORE LIE.
If the Church had to tell the truth instead of clinging to it's Dogma... it would have to close its doors for good out of humility.
In a democracy, laws should be made for secular reasons, not religious ones... otherwise the result will be just one more country run by the equivalent of the Taliban. Jesus said "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's." He meant that his followers should not concern themselves with secular laws but only with the spiritual. When will the bishops of the Church start following Jesus again instead of 20 centuries of Dogma? Even the Pope has said that the Church's OBSESSION with all things gay is not healthy. And he reminded people that it is not their place (or his!) to judge. Since the Bishop isn't really following the Pope's advice OR Jesus'... who exactly is he really speaking for?
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You had an opportunity to show love, instead you chose to spread hatred dear bishop. Why does your church wed old people in your church, if as you say, marriage is only for bearing children, when these old people clearly cannot bear children anymore?! I have no hatred for old people and I'm only using them as an example to show that your argument as well is misleading and deceiving bishop. ... I was told the present pope was in favour of civil unions in Argentina when he was bishop there (but against gay 'marriage'). So why are you not supporting your leader? Oh wait, you were of the Ratzinger crowd, for whom there is no more space in the vatican, so they send you back to Malta to spread hatred. ... Tell me bishop who were the perpetrators of abusing children in the care of your church?!? Were they not your priests??? Why have you not given compensation to the victims yet??? Oh right you have no responsibility! ... Mintoff used to call you bishops Oqbra Mbajda and he was right! I am very seriously considering to severe all my ties with your church. And if indeed I may lose my soul - as you are likely to say - then this will be on your conscience if you really have one. The hatred you preach has become unbearable for me to bear. Reflect on that as well when you think how you spoilt the peace of sunday with your hatred for so many people.
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You had an opportunity to show love, instead you chose to spread hatred dear bishop. Why does your church wed old people in your church, if as you say, marriage is only for bearing children, when these old people clearly cannot bear children anymore?! I have no hatred for old people and I'm only using them as an example to show that your argument as well is misleading and deceiving bishop. ... I was told the present pope was in favour of civil unions in Argentina when he was bishop there (but against gay 'marriage'). So why are you not supporting your leader? Oh wait, you were of the Ratzinger crowd, for whom there is no more space in the vatican, so they send you back to Malta to spread hatred. ... Tell me bishop who were the perpetrators of abusing children in the care of your church?!? Were they not your priests??? Why have you not given compensation to the victims yet??? Oh right you have no responsibility! ... Mintoff used to call you bishops Oqbra Mbajda and he was right! I am very seriously considering to severe all my ties with your church. And if indeed I may lose my soul - as you are likely to say - then this will be on your conscience if you really have one. The hatred you preach has become unbearable for me to bear. Reflect on that as well when you think how you spoilt the peace of sunday with your hatred for so many people.
