Oct 31 - ERG Respond To "All-Guns-Blazing" Bishop
"The all-guns-blazing style of the new Roman Catholic Bishop of Gibraltar, Carmelo Zammitt, is taking many by surprise," the Equality Rights Group Chairman Felix Alvarez said, following reports of the clergyman’s recent statements at a London event on the question of abortion and, allegedly by inference, on same-sex marriage. Mr Alvarez added: "While a number of people, Catholic and non-Catholic and religious and non-religious alike, have contacted us much upset with his recent alleged pronouncements, we have explained that freedom of expression is the right of everyone in our society, including the Bishop.
"Of course, entering the social political arena in such a strident manner as he may be set on doing, means he cannot expect to be treated with any special reverence because of his religious status since he is, in effect, inviting a response from wider society. We ourselves welcome this engagement, but, ofcourse will not be reticent to respond to his involvement in local social politics; a position his predecessors have been careful to avoid.
"It is our hope that the Bishop’s seemingly confrontational stance can change, though. We had, in fact, publicly invited and hoped for dialogue not confrontation, a situation difficult to foresee now given the climate that has been created following a stream of pronouncements from the Bishop. Nonetheless, if religious authorities, of whichever denomination deliberately and directly involve themselves in questioning and intervening in secular and civil social political issues, it is only logical that secular society will be entitled to question and respond in kind on religious and ecclesiastical matters which they would otherwise not feel so licensed to question. This will be wholly regrettable given Gibraltar’s long history of peaceful coexistence. Canon law and secular law have, to date and for the most part in Gibraltar, been respectful of each other. Should this change, the ERG is concerned that challenges may well begin to alter that balance.We will therefore be expressing our concerns on this matter directly to the highest levels of The Vatican.
"ERG regrets the accumulating trail of episcopal statements emanating from the Catholic clergyman and especially his Gibraltar Day pronouncements in which, if reports are correct, whilst avoiding direct mention of recent same-sex marriage legislation in Gibraltar, he counter-positioned mention of prostitution in his speech with discussion of family-friendly legislation, where 'family friendly' may run the risk of echoing the rather worn code phrase ‘traditional family values’, being commonly seen as a prejudiced reference against the LGBT community. If reports of the speech are accurate, ERG is disappointed at the lack of sensitivity demonstrated towards others in this public pronouncement. And must remind the Bishop and his Church that LGBT families also form a part not only of this community, but of his congregation, too, and remarks of this nature cause hurt and harm to others - and that means children as well as adults. Separately, there must be no doubt whatsoever that ERG will staunchly defend and support LGBT families against those who would demean or degrade them in any way or by any means. Incitement to hatred from any sector of this community, ofcourse, cannot be tolerated under any guise.
"Nonetheless, all this said, we fully respect and admit the Bishop’s freedom to express his views in a democratic society. ERG and secular society generally will, of course, not be hesitant to respond in equal measure through all legitimately available avenues. This risks having the highly regrettable effect of softening the margins which secular and religious law and society have so carefully and respectfully held towards each other in our community thus far,’ the statement ended. ‘When we enter the social political arena we are all subject, without privilege, to its rules. In the name of co-existence,and overall, it is a situation we in ERG sincerely trust can be prudently avoided."
{fcomment}
