Times: Church has rules but state makes laws

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090124/letters/church-has-rules-but-state-makes-laws
Saturday, 24th January 2009 by Matthew Saliba, Qormi

There has recently been a lot of talk about introducing divorce or the possibility that maybe Malta will acknowledge same-sex unions. However, the underlying argument always boils down to the fact that it is not within the ambit of the Catholic religion and rightly so! The Catholic Church, just like any other political or social institution, has the right to make its own rules and all those persons who decide to be members of such institution have every obligation to abide by all the rules imposed by it.

What most people fail to understand is the simple fact that the Church is not the State. Every individual has the right to choose how he wants to live, as long as it is within the ambits of the law, and divorce and same-sex unions are one such right. Just because the majority of people living in Malta are baptised, it does not mean that all 100 per cent of people in Malta are bound to obey the rules of the Church. That is what is ultimately meant by freedom of thought and democracy... the minority have rights too (not that I think that it is only the minority that are in favour of divorce or same-sex unions for that matter. Quite the contrary, I think it is the majority, but that is something a referendum would have to decide and not a mere mortal like me).

The bottom line is that it is not the Church that must approve, but the State since it is the State that represents 100 per cent of the people in Malta. Until the State, and the people, understand that one is not the other, we will keep on hearing the same arguments ad nauseam.

On a separate note, it is sad to observe that there is a dire need for blood and yet people who are not ashamed of declaring that they are LGBTs are not allowed to donate blood. This shows how mediocre this country is; we would rather have no blood to save lives with than take the blood of an LGBT... sad indeed! Maybe people fail to realise that being an LGBT is not contagious or are the authorities not performing the necessary tests on blood donated?

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