Times: The good in people - Positivity in persons

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090214/opinion/the-good-in-people
Saturday, 14th February 2009 by Anthony Licari

[Excerpt from the article]

Saving the rainforest

No amount of explanation, clarification and apologetics will change the fact that the Pope of the Catholic Church spoke unkindly about gays in his Christmas speech - as reported in the media. Opinions expressed in this speech include: "homosexuality is unnatural and a destruction of God's work", "saving humanity from homosexual... behaviour (is) just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction". Why not let these people be? They are harming no one.

Dr Licari teaches psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and geolinguistics at the Department of French of the University of Malta.

It-Torċa: Żebliħ minflok kenn

http://www.it-torca.com/news.asp?newsitemid=7849
8.2.9 minn Charles Flores

L-istorja turina li l-Knisja Kattolika qatt ma kienet lesta tipprova l-ġdid u tħares ’il quddiem minflok lura. Saħansitra fil-Konċilju Vatikan II, biex sar it-tibdil li sar kellu jkun hemm taqbid intern li għadu jħalli l-konsegwenzi tiegħu sallum meta donnu li hemm min irid ireġġa’ l-arloġġ lura dwar ħwejjeġ u kwistjonijiet li issa suppost ilhom magħluqin l-għexieren tas-snin. Anki l-quddies bil-Latin qiegħdin jerġgħu jippruvaw jirxuxtaw mill-mewt.

Mhijiex storja sabiħa li tara istituzzjoni dinjija bħalma hi l-Knisja Kattolika, bi skuża jew oħra, teħodha kontra l-progress, l-iżvilupp u r-riċerka. Fl-imgħoddi mbiegħed kien hemm għorrief u artisti kbar li sfaw torturati u mħaġġra, mixwija u maqtula minħabba skoperti u ħidmiet li wettqu u li għalihom kienet oġġezzjonat il-Knisja biex wara nstab li kienu realtajiet li ma setgħux aktar ikunu miċħuda.

Fi żminijietna, il-Knisja rajnieha tikkundanna l-użu tal-kontraċettivi u l-introduzzjoni tad-divorzju u tisfa injorata mill-massa tal-Kattoliċi fid-dinja, baqgħet iżżomm iebes favur iċ-ċelibat u l-qassisin, sorijiet u patrijiet komplew jikkjuwjaw biex jinżgħu, u waqt li kontinwament u bir-raġun taħdem kontra l-abort ma turix l-istess ħeġġa u qawwa ta’ persważjoni kontra l-piena kapitali saħansitra f’pajjiżi (ħbieb) tal-Punent, bħall-Amerika. Aktar riċenti qiegħda wkoll tfixkel il-ħidma fejjieda ta’ xjentisti ġenwini li jaraw il-possibbiltà li jwettqu għeġubijiet mediċi bit-tiftix tagħhom fil-qasam taċ-ċelluli stemmatiċi.

Issa f’dawn l-aħħar xhur rajna l-Knisja Kattolika mmexxija mill-Papa Benedittu XVI tieħu pożizzjoni negattiva u kundannabbli dwar persuni b’orjentazzjoni sesswali differenti, bħallikieku dawn mhux ukoll jistħoqqilhom jgħixu ħajja trankwilla u sabiħa mal-persuna tal-għażla tagħhom, anki jekk tkun tal-istess sess. Intuża kliem li weġġa’ ħafna lil dawk il-persuni kif ukoll lill-familji u l-ħbieb tagħhom, tant li kien hemm min xebbah l-atteġġament tal-Knisja ma’ dak tan-Nażi fil-Ġermanja meta mhux biss il-Lhud sfaw vittmi msejkna tal-qerda u l-preġudizzju, iżda anki l-omosesswali, is-soċjalisti, il-komunisti, it-trejdunjonisti u progressivi oħra tas-soċjetà ta’ dak iż-żmien. Nafu li matul l-aħħar gwerra l-Papa preżenti kien membru tal-Hitler Youth, għaldaqstant huwa ferm iktar gravi li tisma’ minn fommu l-kliem li ntqal.

Hawn Malta wkoll, qiegħdin naraw l-Isqfijiet tagħna jixximjottjaw dwar is-suġġett. Jgħidu kliem u mbagħad idawruh, jagħtu interpretazzjonijiet differenti minn dawk li jkunu fehmu n-nies, speċjalment dawk milquta direttament, bir-riżultat li minflok il-kenn li l-Knisja suppost toffri lil nies li jħossuhom -- mhux għax iridu iżda għax twieldu hekk -- differenti, qiegħda toffrilhom żebliħ miksi biz-zokkor.

Fis-Seklu 21 lil min jgħin jinbidlu l-mentalitajiet marradija tal-imgħoddi għandna bżonn u mhux lil min jipprova jimbotta kollox lura. Huwa proprju għalhekk li tant u tant nies fittxew triqat oħra, lil hinn mir-reġimentazzjoni konservattiva tal-Knisja Kattolika, biex ħaddnu reliġjonijiet oħra jew abbandunaw għal kollox kull twemmin waqt li qiegħdin ikompli jispikka l-argument konvinċenti tar-relattiviżmu. Anki fiċ-ċkejkna Malta issa rajna lil min hu kuraġġuż biżżejjed li joħroġ juri li ma jridx ikun membru ta’ xi ħaġa li wara kollox qiegħda tbarrih.

It-tjubija ma tistax tkun superfiċjali. Trid tkun ġejja minn ġewwa u għalhekk ġenwina. Kif ħafna membri tal-Kleru jsibuha diffiċli biex jimxu mar-regola taċ-ċelibat (Malta żgħira u n-nies magħrufa) hekk ukoll persuni b’orjentazzjoni sesswali differenti ma jistax ikun li jkunu mistennija ma jfittxux dik li għalihom hija l-hena mixtieqa fil-ħajja sempliċiment għax il-Knisja ma tħallihomx, anzi tikkundannahom bl-aktar kliem iebes.

Daqstant importanti hu li l-awtoritajet sekulari ma jiddakkrux minn dan l-atteġġament negattiv tal-Knisja. L-Istat hu marbut li joffri kenn lil kulħadd, mill-fqir saż-żgħir u l-vulnerabbli. Hekk ukoll lil ċittadini b’orjentazzjoni sesswali differenti li iżda xorta waħda jħallsu t-taxxi kollha li jħallsu l-bqija. Jekk il-Knisja trid li tibqa’ ddeffes rasha fit-trab tal-art, l-Istat ma jistax u m’għandux jitħalla jagħmel bħalha.

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[Il-kumplament ta' l-artiklu jitratta suġġetti oħrajn. Tista' tara l-artiklu kollu billi tikklikja fuq il-hyperlink ta' hawn fuq.]

YouTube: Love Poem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J-6ZZLMzjE

California's Proposition 8 is a measure on the 2008 ballot to end same-sex marriage. We strongly oppose this initiative. http://www.noonprop8.com/ Directed by Dave Barton & "Greg Adkins" Cinematog...

YouTube: Gay Christian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPUE9xpxjcc


Rowan Atkinson

L-Orizzont: Ktieb li qed jinbiegħ mingħand “il-Qarrej Nisrani”.… Ferment fost il-komunità tal-omosesswali

http://www.l-orizzont.com/news.asp?newsitemid=50984

12.2.9 minn Victor Vella 

Qalb diversi oġġetti sagri lesti biex jinbiegħu fil-ħwienet bl-isem “Il-Qarrej Nisrani” wieħed isib oġġetti li jintużaw fiċ-ċelebrazzjoni tal-Quddiesa, bħal albi, stejjel u kalċijiet. Fl-istess ħwienet issib diversi kotba reliġjużi fosthom dawk maħruġin mill-Knisja Maltija, kartolini, ikoni, kuruni, statwi u diversi forom ta’ slaleb. Qalb dawn l-oġġetti reliġjużi, li normalment wieħed jassoċjahom mal-għaqda, it-tolleranza, l-imħabba u l-maħfra, dan l-aħħar tfaċċa ktieb li qed joħloq ferment sħiħ fost il-komunità omosesswali fil-gżejjer Maltin.

Il-ktieb, bl-isem ta’ “The Catholic Church and Homosexuality”, li anke kien qed ikun irriklamat b’ċerta prominenza fil-websajt ta’ “Il-Qarrej Nisrani”, hu dwar il-Knisja Kattolika u l-omosesswalità, ktieb li mhux biss ma jurix rispett lejn persuni omosesswali iżda ukoll minn dak li jgħid xejn m’hu tolleranti fejn tidħol l-omosesswalità. L-avviż stess li għamel “Il-Qarrej Nisrani” biex jirreklama dan il-ktieb u jħajjar ix-xiri tiegħu, jiddeskrivi l-omosesswalità bħala “kruha” u “abnormali”.

L-Inġinier Patrick Attard, li kien l-uniku kandidat li kkontesta l-elezzjoni ġenerali li ddikjara fi-miftuħ li hu persuna omosesswali u li riċentament kien fl-aħbarijiet meta skomunika lilu nnifsu mill-Knisja Maltija, iddeskriva il-ktieb u r-reklam magħmul minn “Il-Qarrej Nisrani” bħala “injoranza” u li “qed ixerred il-mibgħeda lejn il-persuni omosesswali”.



“L-Aids hi l-kastig ta’ Alla għall-omosesswali”

Hekk kif inġibditlu l-attenzjoni dwar dan ir-reklam imxandar, l-Inġinier Patrick Attard mar u xtara dan il-ktieb mill-fergħa ta’ “Il-Qarrej Nisrani” li dawn għandhom f’Birkirkara. Il-ktieb “The Catholic Church and Homosexuality” miktub minn Atila Sinke Guimaraes, fis-sommarju jgħid li “ma jrid iħalli l-ebda dubju fl-imħuħ dwar il-kruha ta’ din il-prattika abnormali u l-mod kif il-Knisja dejjem ħarset lejha”.

Il-ktieb jgħid li l-omosesswalità hi “xi ħaġa tax-xitan” u li l-AIDS hi “l-kastig ta’ Alla għall-omosesswali”. Il-ktieb anke jipprova jqarreb il-pedofelija mal-omosesswalità.

Patrick Attard, fil-kummenti tiegħu jgħid li “dan il-ktieb qed iħeġġeġ il-mibgħeda lejn persuni omosesswali. Din hi l-istess mibgħeda li wasslet biex 15,000 omosesswali Ġermaniżi jinġabru u jintbagħtu f’Mauthausen fis-sena 1933, fejn biss inqas minn għaxra minnhom li baqgħu ħajjin. It-trattament tal-omosesswali fil-kampijiet tal-konċentrament kien wieħed ħażin ħafna u ta’ min jistmerru, tant li meta kienu jmutu xi Lhud, l-omosesswali kienu jipprovaw jieħdu l-istilla li kien ikollhom ma’ idejhom biex jaħbu t-trijangolu roża li kienu jagħmlulhom. Min qed jimporta dawn il-kotba f’Malta għandu jinżamm responsabbli u anke l-partiti politiċi għandhom jitkellmu fuq dawn il-kotba. Hu xokkanti li ommijiet li jiskopru li uliedhom huma omosesswali jmorru biex jixtru kotba minn “Il-Qarrej Nisrani” biex jinformaw ruħhom fuq is-suġġett u jsibu din it-tip ta’ mibgħeda f’dawn il-kotba”.



“Għandu jitwaqqaf il-bejgħ”

L-Inġinier Patrick Attard enfasizza li “għandu jitwaqqaf b’mod immedjat il-bejgħ ta’ dawn il-kotba. Inħeġġeġ lin-nies biex jitkellmu fuq l-intolleranza li qed juri dan il-ktieb. Dan il-ktieb għamel ħsara irreparabbli lill-komunità omosesswali f’Malta”.

Patrick Attard jgħid li “l-Knisja Kattolika f’Malta għandha tara li tiġi msewwija din il-ħsara u dan billi twaqqaf l-impjieg ta’ min ħalla dan il-ktieb jinbiegħ fl-ixkafef tal-ħwienet tagħha, tieħu passi dixxiplinarji kontra min għamel sommarju tal-ktieb u poġġieh fil-websajt tal-kumpanija tal-knisja – il-MediaCentre. Talab ukoll li l-knisja għandha tagħmel apoloġija mal-komunità tal-omosesswali, li l-ktieb ikun irtirat, li jinġabru l-kotba mixtrija u jingħataw ‘refund’ u li l-knisja tagħmel dikjarazzjoni biex dawn il-kotba ma jiġux importati.



Pożizzjoni mill-politiċi

L-Inġinier Attard sejjaħ lill-politiċi biex jieħdu pożizzjoni fuq dan il-ktieb u reġa’ fakkar kif il-Parlamentari Ewropej tal-Partit Nazzjonalisa, Simon Busuttil u David Casa, b’mod konsistenti vvotaw kontra u astjenew fuq riżoluzzjonijiet li jikkundannaw il-qtil u t-tortura tal-omosesswali. Agħar minn hekk Simon Busuttil, iffirma petizzjoni fis-26 ta’ April, 2007, biex titneħħa riżoluzzjoni li tikkundanna l-omofobija minn fuq l-aġenda.



L-avviż minn “Il-Qarrej Nisani”

Intant l-avviż minn “Il-Qarrej Nisrani” biex jirreklama l-ktieb kien jgħid hekk: “The Catholic Church and Homosexuality” – prezz Lm3.75 jew €8.74. Dan il-ktieb jitratta b’mod ħafif it-tradizzjoni Kattolika dwar l-omosesswalità, biex tiċċara bla tlaqliq, il-problemi ta’ madwarha u b’hekk ma jibqa’ l-ebda dubju fl-imħuħ dwar il-kruha ta’ din il-prattika abnormali u l-mod kif il-Knisja dejjem ħarset lejha. Dan l-istudju jdaħħal ħafna kwotazzjonjiet mill-Bibbja, mit-tagħlim tal-Maġisteru, mit-tagħlim tal-Papiet, mil-Liġi Kanonika, mid-Dutturi tal-Knisja, qaddisin u oħrajn. Minkejja li t-tagħlim jingħata fil-qosor, l-ebda kattoliku serju ma’ jista’ jinjora dan l-istudju ċar u miftuħ.



Il-NCPE tgħid li ma tistax tidħol fil-każ

Ir-rabja fost il-komunità omosesswali f’Malta għal dan il-ktieb u għall-fatt li dan qed jinbiegħ minn ħwienet u jiġi reklamat minn kumpanija tal-Knisja Kattolika, wasslet biex individwi omosesswali jiktbu direttament lill-kumpanija ‘Mediacentre’ biex jipprotestaw għal dawn it-tip ta’ kotba li qiegħda tippermetti li jinbiegħu mill-ħwienet tagħha kif ukoll għall-mod ta’ kif dawn qegħdin ikunu reklamati.

Kien hemm ukoll min talab intervent mingħand il-Kummissjoni Nazzjonali għall-Promozzjoni tal-Ugwaljanza (NCPE) speċjalment fid-dawl ta’ studju riċerkat li għamlet fejn analizzat id-diskriminazzjoni li għadha teżisti f’pajjiżna fuq il-bażi ta’ razza, ix-xorta tas-sess, l-orjentament sesswali, id-diżabbiltà, ir-reliġjon u l-età u x’passi għandhom jittieħdu biex din id-diskriminazzjoni tieqaf darba għal dejjem.

Biss, ironikament, dawn fir-risposta li taw qalu li huma jidħlu biss f’każi ta’ diskriminazzjoni abbażi tax-xorta tas-sess, fuq il-post tax-xogħol jew fl-għoti ta’ impjiegi, f’servizzi jew oġġetti jew diskriminazzjoni minħabba r-razza fl-għoti ta’ servizzi u oġġetti. Il-Kummissjoni Nazzjonali fit-tweġiba tagħha qalet li “m’għandhiex ġurisdizzjoni biex tieħu azzjoni fejn tidħol diskriminazzjoni fuq bażi ta’ orjentazzjoni sesswali”.

Malta Today: Taking it seriously

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2009/02/11/harry.html 

Wednesday, 11 February 2009 by Harry Vassallo

Most of us are not gay. Some of us are homophobic. The vast majority are altogether unaffected by the issue.

Patrick Attard is gay, out and free. When he is insulted publicly he responds appropriately, logically and shockingly in the eyes of many of us who are attuned to the prevailing culture which invites us always to fly low and slow.

His self-excommunication from the Catholic Church in response to Pope Benedict’s “intrinsic evil” Christmas message caused quite a stir just weeks ago. Most people who are no longer comfortable being Catholic walk away quietly. Ing. Attard was not happy to become yet another lapsed Catholic. He discovered that there is a formal procedure for exit from the Catholic Church, filled in the forms and made the fact public.

Ironically his is a very Catholic attitude, logical, legalistic and absolutist. He is the appropriate counterpart to the self-righteous Catholic for whom every issue is clear cut good or bad, permitted or prohibited. Whether or not it arises from an unproven premise, it follows a mechanical logic.

In an irresistible provocation, the Church’s Media Centre advertised, sold and distributed under state license and a book entitled The Catholic Church and Homosexuality with the ominous sub-title The Appendix to In The Murky Waters of Vatican II. Its author, Atila Sinke Guimaraes, demonises homosexuality quoting the Old Testament and describes the AIDS epidemic as God’s punishment on homosexuals. Patrick Attard responded with a press release demanding an apology, the withdrawal of the book and the sacking of the person responsible for its publication in Malta.

Beyond the issue of homosexuality itself, the contest is set to raise the more fundamental question of Church/State interface. When does the expression of one’s belief become a violation of another’s right to live in peace? Any religion must be entitled to teach its faithful that anything is an abomination. If that teaching happens to be in defiance of the guarantees to peaceful co-existence offered by a modern state, can the teaching be done legitimately in public?

Under Sharia law the punishment for adultery is death by stoning just as it was under the law of Moses. Muslims are free to believe that it is morally right to inflict death by stoning on adulterers and even to believe that it is their moral obligation to carry out the sentence. If they act on such beliefs in a modern state they will become liable to the punishments meted out for murder.

It must be the same also for Catholics. Where should the line be drawn and who in Malta Cattolicissima will draw it? Which political party wants to be seen to be in conflict with the Church? Will any Maltese politician dare to defend the fundamentals of civic tolerance in the face of an overwhelmingly dominant faith now spoiling for a fight? Assuming that there exists a such a stalwart, endowed with the philosophical umph to realise the threat to civil authority and peaceful civic co-existence, will his or her party allow any expression of concern when both parties in parliament hang by a thread?

The danger is not only to gays, few of whom will follow Patrick Attard’s example, it is to all of us, also to those of us who lapsed long ago. In this most Catholic of countries, the assault of the dominant current in the Catholic Church on its own Vatican Council II reform can have a devastating success and far beyond the issue of homophobia. Does anybody else see it coming?

Independent: What the Pope really said

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=82964
11.2.9 by Adrian Camilleri Flores; ST Paul’s Bay

During the Xarabank programme of 30 January the fiction that Pope Benedict XVI, in his address to the Roman Curia of 22 December 2008 “described homosexuality as ‘the destruction of God’s own work’,” was repeated.

In fact, anyone who checks what the Pope actually said can confirm that Benedict XVI did not even mention homosexuality. His only clear allusion to it was in a reference to “marriage, understood as the life-long bond between a man and a woman”. How this restatement of the Catholic view that marriage is a heterosexual institution translates into the Pope describing homosexuality as “the destruction of God’s work” (a phrase that occurs several sentences earlier) is beyond my imagination to conceive.

Any illusion in an earlier reference to “the nature of the human being as man and woman” would be to transexuality rather than homosexuality, and in any case would be quite peripheral. The context of the Pope’s whole argument indicates that he is concerned with far wider issues.

One of these is gender theory. As journalist Paul Vallely wrote in The Independent (UK), since the Pope’s remarks “were in an in-house address to his staff, he spoke in impenetrable theological shorthand”. Consequently, many outsiders missed the significance of his use of the term “gender”. (The English word is used in the original Italian and German texts). In fact, as another journalist, Peter Popham, wrote, also in The Independent, “the Pope... was apparently taking up arms against” gender theory’s claim “that our ideas about the categories of sex, gender and sexuality are not the product of biology but are culturally constituted in accordance with what a given society permits”.

Mark Henderson, science editor of The Times (UK), wrote that in attacking gender theory, “the Holy Father has said something that needed saying”. But he added, “as the Pope is finding out, anyone who criticises this “gender theory” invites vitriol from its liberal supporters. Scientists such as Simon Baron-Cohen and Steven Pinker have been accused of rationalising patriarchy and discrimination. Nevertheless, “the work of these researchers and others shows that gender theory is built on sand... the Pope (is) taking the right side in this argument”.

The fiercest critics of gender theory are evolutionary psychologists like Pinker and Baron-Cohen. In his acclaimed attack on social constructionist ideology, The Blank Slate (2002), Steven Pinker devotes a long chapter to gender in which, like the Pope, he never once mentions homosexuality. What he is concerned with is the pernicious effect of gender theory on feminism.

As Paul Vallely wrote, something else that the Pope “seems to have his sights... is questions of bioethics”. This is hardly surprising since the Vatican had issued its most important document on bioethics in 20 years a mere 10 days before. In his address the Pope speaks of the “message... inscribed” in man, or in more scientific language the genetic code, and of defending “human nature against manipulation”.

As has often been said, the Catholic Church thinks in centuries, and the Pope has every reason to be concerned about the dire prospects for humanity if it sets out, as it seems to be doing, on the road of what Cardinal Keith O’Brien and others have called “Frankenstein science”.

Already some countries, like the UK, have given the green light to the creation of clones, human animal hybrids and so on, and there is no telling where it will all end. Many people are worried about genetically modified crops and animals, but they should be even more worried about genetically modified humans.

The Vatican’s concern is shared by prominent secular intellectuals like Jurgen Habermas, Francis Fukuyama and Bryan Appleyard, all of whom have written books on the matter. The Pope’s call to “not only defend the earth, water and air” and the “rain forests”, but also to “protect man” echoes what Fukuyama wrote in his essay Transhumanism (2004): “The environmental movement has taught us humility and respect for the integrity of non-human nature. We need a similar humility concerning our human nature. If we do not develop it soon, we may unwittingly invite the transhumanists to deface humanity with their genetic bulldozers and psychotropic shopping malls.”

“Transhumanist” is the term adopted by those who advocate the (almost) unfettered use of biotechnology to, as Fukuyama puts it, “liberate the human race from its biological constraints” or, in the words of the transhumanist philosopher Max More, “guide us towards a post-human condition”.

This, not homosexuality (which he did not mention), is what the Pope had in mind when he warned against “man’s attempt at self-emancipation from creation”, and called for “a human ecology” and respect for “the language of creation. To disregard this (he warned) would be the self-destruction of man himself, and hence the destruction of God’s own work”.

Malta Today: A defensive church under siege!

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2009/02/08/l4.html

Sunday, 08 February 2009 by JOSEPH CHETCUTI; AUSTRALIA

First it was Benedict’s turn. Cast your mind back to 23 December 2008. The venue: the Sala Clementina. The occasion: Benedict’s Christmas greetings to the Roman Curia. A joyous kind of day and a wonderful opportunity to preach not only the good news but also hammer home the “ecology of the human being”! Rainforests, he tells us, deserve our protection but so do human beings. Who would argue with him? Enter a nasty secular media, staffed by socialists, communists, Protestants, Jews and homosexuals. Benedict’s message of deliverance from gender bending is wrongly reported, or so the Vatican would have us believe, as referring to homosexuals and transsexuals. Gay men, lesbians, transsexuals and transvestites are outraged (the Vatican thinks unjustifiably so). That great defender of the faith Fr Anton Gouder is beside himself. How could the Pope have said what he said? He said so on Xarabank. He checks Benedict’s speech and then … a revelation! Benedict never once made reference to homosexuals and transsexuals.
Now turn your eyes to the sleepy island of Gozo and its Ordinary, Monsignor Mario Grech. On 25 January 2009, a newspaper (mis)quotes the Monsignor as saying: “Who does not accept Christ’s teachings should be honest with themselves and excommunicate themselves from the Church.” Contrary to what was alleged, the affable Monsignor never once mentioned “them”, that is homosexuals, transsexuals and transvestites. Eight days later, the bishop’s Curia issues a declaration consisting of 258 words. In the declaration, the Monsignor states that he made no reference whatsoever to any category of persons, homosexual included. Significantly, he says he did not say that homosexuals should leave the Church. But he admits to having said: “the fact that our Church may not remain one of the masses but becomes one of a minority, must not disappoint us. Because a little salt is enough to give flavor….” Salt and homosexuality! I wonder what Freud would have made of that? The Monsignor also says he said: “He who does not accept the teaching of Christ, would be honest with himself if he excommunicates himself from the Church.”
Two simple questions raise their head. Question 1: What exactly did Benedict and the Monsignor mean? Question 2: Can one refer to an individual or a group of people without actually mentioning them?

What Benedict and the Monsignor meant?
Back to Benedict! Benedict’s contentious statement is located in part 2 of paragraph 1 of his homily where he makes reference to (a) the “nature of the human being [as] man and woman”, (b) “the language of creation”, (c) “the self destruction of man and therefore to the destruction of the same work of God”, (d) “the self-emancipation of man from creation and from the Creator”, and (e) “matrimony, [as being both] the life-long bond between man and woman [and] a sacrament of creation”. Now call me stupid but do not Catholics resort to the Genesis account or accounts of Creation to be more accurate to condemn same-sex relations? And is it not also argued that the practice of homosexuality would spell the end of the world? And have not same-sex registrations, civil unions and marriages ruffled the Church’s feathers in recent years? And is not gender theory inextricably linked with sexual orientation? So, as Fr Anton Gouder so eloquently put it on Xarabank, Benedict’s comments were more general in nature and homosexuals and transsexuals were not intended to take the full brunt of Benedict’s criticism. Charming!

Now return to the Monsignor and his homily which came days or weeks after two gay men and one lesbian excommunicated themselves. I ask: If the Monsignor’s mention of excommunication was not intended to refer to homosexuals, whom was it aimed at? What other inferences can a reasonable person draw?

Referring to homosexuals and transsexuals without mentioning them.
So the argument seems to be that the Church is at liberty to take cheap shots at homosexuals and transsexuals and then hide under the cover of misinterpretation and misquotation. I wonder whatever happened to indirect references and those propositions arrived at by inference? True, inferences may be valid or invalid but given the Church’s record of homophobia, how else, I ask: Could Benedict’s and the Monsignor’s homily have been interpreted? Whatever happed to context? Or are we homosexuals and transsexuals far too sensitive to be taken seriously.

Another venue: the Media Centre website. The occasion: promotion of the book The Catholic Church and Homosexuality. The blurb, amongst other things, refers to the “ugliness of this abnormal practice”. My response: an email in typical Australian diplomatic style with frequent and repetitive use of a word that brought Gordon Ramsay to notoriety. The result: the email is left unanswered (Surprise! Surprise!) but the offending and unchristian comments are removed from the website. And to paraphrase the Cartesian assumption “Je pense donc je suis”, I say: “I am my sexual orientation.”

I simply do not buy into this nonsense. Popes and bishops should weigh carefully what they say. The days when everyone and anyone says “yes” to whatever they utter are long gone.

Times: The winter of our discontent

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090210/opinion/the-winter-of-our-discontent

Tuesday, 10th February 2009 by Kenneth Zammit Tabona
Excerpt from the article

January 2009 has been and gone in a flurry of rain and disagreeable weather that is best soon forgotten. A dull anticlimactic month, as a rule, this particular January has been characterised by several ongoing debates between the government and the increasing number of people who have the temerity to think for themselves. Not a day passes without the government being criticised for this that or the other. Although some theorists say that this is healthy, I feel that carrying it to this, extreme is a rather hazardous gamble for a government who won the last election by a mere whisker despite promising the moon and several planets to boot!

...

Then, of course, there are the social issues. I find it hard to understand how the PN government, after having played a pro-Europe hand for so long and with such tenacity, can be so reluctant to accept social changes like divorce and same-sex marriage, to mention but a few subjects that many people who voted yes in the referendum imagined would become a reality once we joined Europe. We are told that there is no need to have divorce as there is already something like it in our laws, which is its equivalent but is not called divorce. We are told that there is no need to have same-sex marriage as it will be taken care of in the eventual cohabitation laws.

Unable to call a spade a spade, this government hides under euphemisms and displays all the defects and shortcomings of 'Dorothy's Friends' in The Wizard Of Oz!

So indoctrinated are we by the all pervasive power of the Catholic Church that Xarabank chose to air a discussion programme about homosexuality without one government representative on the panel. While the Prime Minister and the Minister for Social Policy probably watched the programme from the safe comfort of their homes, it was left to the Archbishop and Fr Anton Gouder, especially the latter, to squirm under a literal bombardment of scornful criticism that, by rights, should have been aimed at Lawrence Gonzi and John Dalli. So unfair!

[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments.]

Illum: L-Amnesty International u l-Malta Gay Rights Movement jirreaġixxu - Mill-iżbarra għal Kordin

http://www.illum.com.mt/2009/02/08/t11.html
8.2.9 minn Julia Farrugia

L-Amnesty International fl-Ingilterra, l-Għaqda internazzjonali li tiġġieled favur id-drittijiet tal-bniedem, irreaġixxiet għal storja li dehret bħal-lum ġimgħa f’din il-gazzetta [ara hawn taħt għall-artiklu].

F’intervista Natal Bonello, transesswali li qattgħet xi żmien fil-Faċilità Korrettiva ta’ Kordin, tkellmet dwar il-moħqrija li ġarrbet hi u dwar moħqrija li allegatament qed issofri bħalissa transesswali li hemm f’Diviżjoni 6 tal-ħabs minn priġunieri oħra.

“Għandi ħabiba transesswali li bħalissa qiegħda f’Diviżjoni 6. Sa din il-ġimgħa stess ċemplitli tibki. Qed issostni li qed tiġi msawta minn priġunieri rġiel oħra. Tibki biki kbir. Hi u tolfoq qaltli li anke l-ħwejjeġ ħarqulha fil-ħabs. Din moħqrija. Qed tiġi abbużata. Ir-recordings tat-telefonati qiegħdin hemm. Jistgħu jisimgħuhom,” saħqet Natal.

Bonello allegat ukoll li meta kienet il-ħabs kien hemm anke uffiċjali tal-ħabs li għaddewha minn martirju bl-inkejja tagħhom.

L-Amnesty ssostni li “f’Diċembru li għadda Malta kienet firmatarja ta’ dikjarazzjoni tal-Ġnus Magħquda favur id-drittijiet tal-bniedem fuq orjentazzjoni sesswali u l-gender. It-tħassib li tqajjem l-istorja jiksru l-istess impenn ta’ Malta meta ffirmat id-dikjarazzjoni.”

Fix-xhur li għaddew Amnesty International ħarġet rapport li ffoka fuq transgender f’detenzjoni u minnu joħorġu numru ta’ rakkomandazzjonijiet li l-għaqda tissuġġerixxi li jkunu nklużi f’Malta.

“Għandha tkun ċara li qatt mhu tollerat li uffiċjali tal-Pulizija jew gwardjani jabbużaw verbalment minn priġunieri fuq orjentazzjoni sesswali, gender jew espressjoni. Għandha tittieħed azzjoni dixxiplinarja xierqa kontra dawk l-uffiċjali li jwettqu abbuż bħal dan,” sostniet l-Amnesty.

“Gwardjani għandhom jindirizzaw lil transesswali bl-isem li jużaw regolarment.
“L-Awtoritajiet Maltin għandhom jikkonsultaw ma’ għaqdiet tat-transgender biex jidentifikaw x’inhuma l-aħjar prattiċi dwar jekk transgender għandhomx jinżammu f’diviżjoni tan-nisa jew f’tal-irġiel.

“Jekk minħabba raġunijiet ta’ sigurtà ikun meħtieġ li persuni lesbiċi, gay, bisesswali jew transgender jinżammu separatament minn priġunieri oħra, iridu jingħataw l-istess livell ta’ aċċess għal servizzi u riżorsi, fosthom toilets u faċilitajiet oħra.”

Amnesty International tkompli li “Tfittxijiet li jsiru fuq transgender għandhom isiru mhux sempliċiment biex tkun sfidata l-identità tagħhom. Meta tfittxija tkun meħtieġa din għandha ssir fil-privat u bl-akbar dinjità. Jekk il-priġunier hu transgender it-tfittxija għandha ssir minn żewġ uffiċjali li s-sess tagħhom jagħżlu l-priġunier. Jekk priġunier ma jispeċifikax preferenza t-tfittxija trid issir minn uffiċjali bl-istess sess tal-priġunier,” tikkonkludi l-għaqda dinjija favur id-drittijiet tal-bniedem.

Il-każ qanqal reazzjoni qawwija fil-Malta Gay Rights Movement li f’kummenti lil din il-gazzetta qal “l-MGRM juri t-tħassib tiegħu dwar l-allegazzjonijiet li saru minn Natal Bonello dwar il-mod ta’ kif qed jiġu trattati persuni transesswali fil-ħabs kemm jekk huma priġunieri kif ukoll jekk huma viżitaturi.

“L-MGRM tħeġġeġ lill-awtoritajiet konċernati biex jinvestigaw dan il-każ b’mod immedjat u biex tiġi miġbura u mismugħha kull evidenza, inklużi t-telefonati rrekordjati msemmija,” appella l-Moviment.

“Għandhom ukoll jiżguraw li fil-ħabs jitwaqqfu prattiċi tajbin bbażati fuq ir-rispett lejn id-dinjità tal-persuna u d-dritt għal trattament uman waqt li qegħdin f’detenzjoni.

L-MGRM qed tappella biex kulmin għandu xi każ simili biex iżomm rapport dettaljat bil-miktub dwar dak li jkun ġralu u jekk hemm bżonn ifittex anke parir legali u/jew appoġġ minn entitajiet bħal MGRM, Amnesty jew Mid-Dlam għad-Dawl.”

Matul din il-ġimgħa kien hemm it-tielet għaqda li rreaġixxiet għal-istorja ta’ Illum. Nhar l-Erbgħa l-għaqda non-governattiva Mid-Dlam għad-Dawl li taħdem fost il-priġunieri sostniet li dan l-aġir hu inaċċettabbli u f’ittra urġenti lid-Direttur tal-Ħabs u lill-Ministru għall-Ġustizzja Carm Mifsud Bonnici talbet inkjesta dwar il-każ.

Dan tal-aħħar għall-mistoqsijiet tal-MaltaToday ta’ nhar l-Erbgħa sostna li “l-awtoritajiet tal-ħabs m’għandhomx informazzjoni li l-persuna f’Diviżjoni 6 qed issofri minn xi abbuż.”

Għal xi raġuni l-awtoritajiet għadhom ma laqgħux it-talba li jisimgħu r-recordings fejn il-priġuniera qed tibki u tallega li qed tkun maħqura.

Tista’ taqra r-rapport tal-Amnesty International dwar transgender f’detenzjoni fuq:
Link

Referenzi għall-għajnuna:
http://www.amnesty.org
http://www.maltagayrights.net
www.mddmalta.org

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http://www.illum.com.mt/2009/02/01/interview.html
Intervista | 01 ta’ Frar 2009 Nr 118

Illum: Mill-iżbarra għal Kordin

Julia Farrugia tintervista lil Natal Bonello

Xagħar imġiegħed twil safrani jinżel jistrieħ fuq spallejn mislutin. B’saqajha puliti rqaq imrikkba fuq xulxin Natal Bonello tpoġġi l-karti kollha fuq il-mejda.
“Kont diġà Kordin sentejn ilu u tefgħuni f’Diviżjoni 13 u wara fit-12,” tistqarr. “Fil-karozza tas-CID tgħidx kemm bkejt meta bdew isuqu biex joħduni l-ħabs għax bżajt li jdaħħluni f’diviżjoni tal-irġiel minflok f’dik tan-nisa,” tispjega.
“Kif fil-fatt ġara. Tefgħuni mal-irġiel. Ħassejtni ħażin ħafna. Ikun hemm min jipprova jwaqqgħek għaċ-ċajt. Min isaffar, min jibdel il-vuċi taparsi mara. Imma wara jibdew jidraw.”

Nistaqsiha kemm ilha li għamlet din il-bidla minn raġel għal mara.
“Ili nħossni mara minn meta kont żgħira. Minn meta twelidt. Jien tewmija ma’ tifla. Inħossni mara. M’għamiltx l-operazzjoni minħabba kwistjoni ta’ flus. Trid xi Lm9,000 minbarra l-ispiża biex tħallas il-vjaġġ tal-ajru u affarijiet oħra li ġġib magħha l-operazzjoni,” tkompli Natal.

Il-kuraġġ ta’ din it-tfajla jikxef maskra reali li f’pajjiż kattoliku u suppost solidari ma juri xejn ħlief ipokrizija u ħruxija.

“Il-ħajja fil-ħabs għal persuni trans mhix waħda faċli. Jien mara u nilbes ta’ mara. Ovvjament il-ħabs mhux se nilbes id-dbielet imma nilbes qliezet diċenti. Darba d-direttur tal-ħabs qalli: ‘Hemm fejn taħseb li sejra?’ Kelli qalziet dejjaq u flokk ta’ mara – xejn mikxuf.”

Imma jkun hemm daqqiet li jinfdu aktar fil-fond u fi kliem Natal trid trabbi qoxra biex biha tiddefendi lilek innifsek minn kull tip ta’ diskriminazzjoni mibnija fuq is-sess.

“Wara li nieħu shower kont naħsel il-ħwejjeġ ta’ taħt u nnixxifhom fiċ-ċella. Darba għadda gwardjan u qabadli qalziet ta’ taħt tan-nisa li kelli minxur. ‘Dan x’inhu?’ qalli filwaqt li ċaqlaq il-qalziet ta’ taħt b’idejh. ‘X’inhu, eh, dan, hi?’
Natal bħallikieku qed tara x-xena quddiem għajnejha wieġbet: “Mhux qalziet ta’ taħt qed tara! Tkunx vojt.”

Il-ħajja fil-ħabs għal persuni trans mhux ward u żahar.

“Persuni bħali qed jitpoġġew ukoll f’Diviżjoni 8 fis-sezzjoni tal-pedofeli. Timmaġinak? Hemm min jidher li hu mara, b’sider bis-silicone u xorta jitfgħuh f’diviżjoni tal-irġiel. Li tpoġġina ma’ nies pedofeli hu nsult. Ma jaħsbux li qed ipoġġu lilna f’riskju wkoll? Qisek qed tpoġġi t-tiben ħdejn in-nar!”
Ir-rakkont ta’ Natal jissokta. Tirrakkonta episodju ieħor li ġarrbet meta kienet fil-Faċilità Korrettiva ta’ Kordin.

“Meta kont il-ħabs qlajt kastig u tefgħuni f’Diviżjoni 6. Fil-ġurnata u nofs li qattajt hemm mort sal-infern u lura.”
Nitlobha tispjega.

“Priġunieri oħra f’din id-diviżjoni riedu ċerti affarijiet minni,” tkun it-tweġiba.
“Jabbużawk sesswalment?” nistaqsiha.

“Le. Diviżjoni 6, peress li hemm sigurtà massima, mimlija cameras. Ħlief fiċ-ċella u fix-showers. X’ħin dħalt biex ninħasel priġunier inbuttani għal ġox-shower u hemm sibt tlieta oħra jistennewni. L-ewwel wieħed dawwar ix-xugaman tiegħu m’għonqi u prova jgħallaqni bih. Kienu jafu li jien kelli passat bid-droga u bdew jinsistu biex nagħtihom id-droga għax ħasbu li għandi fuqi. B’rasi bdejt nagħmel sinjal li m’għandix. Ix-xugaman beda aktar jissikka u x’ħin bqajt ngħid li m’għandix priġunier ieħor qabad isawwatni b’saħħa bil-lasta tal-ixkupa.”

Natal jistqarr li rraporta dan l-episodju ma’ uffiċjal tal-iSpecial Response Team (SRT) li “mar ibeżbiżhom biex jaqbeż għalija.”
U hawn ifaqqgħu akkużi serji.

“Jien għandi ħabiba transesswali li bħalissa qiegħda f’Diviżjoni 6. Sa din il-ġimgħa stess ċemplitli tibki. Qed issostni li qed tiġi msawta minn priġunieri rġiel oħra.
“Tibki biki kbir. Hi u tolfoq qaltli li anke l-ħwejjeġ ħarqulha fil-ħabs. Din moħqrija. Qed tiġi abbużata. Ir-recordings tat-telefonati qiegħdin hemm. Jistgħu jisimgħuhom,” tisħaq Natal.

Transesswali oħra li takkumpanja lil Natal fl-uffiċċju tagħna tikkonfermali li hi semgħet b’widnejha l-appell ta’ din il-priġunier.

“Nitolbu bil-ħrara biex l-awtoritajiet jinvestigaw dan il-każ. Il-ħabiba tagħna għaddejja minn tbatija. Nixtiequ li xi ħadd jintervjeni u jieħu azzjoni.”

Iż-żewġ persuni jikkonfermaw li anke meta jmorru jaraw lil din il-priġuniera dejjem tgħidilhom li qed tinħaqar. Ma nifilħux narawha aktar f’din is-sitwazzjoni. Dan l-aħħar qaltli li tant xebgħet li lesta tneħħi ħajjitha,” tispjega Natal.
Il-ħabiba tagħha ssemmi punt ieħor.

“Meta ġieli semmejna dan il-punt li aħna nisa u ma nistgħux nibqgħu nkunu suġġetti għal din id-diskriminazzjoni kien hemm min qalilna: ‘Mhux aħjar tmorru tiskontaw is-sentenza f’diviżjoni speċjali li hemm Monte Carmeli?’

“Monte Carmeli?! Mela aħna mġienen biex immorru hemm?!” tinsisti seħbitha.
Natal qed tistenna sentenza fuq każ li seħħ fl-imgħoddi. Il-biża’ li minn wara l-iżbarra terġa’ tirfes l-għatba ta’ Kordin bħala priġuniera.

“Naf li għalxejn nitolbu nkunu f’diviżjoni ma’ nisa oħra għax żgur li l-awtoritjiet mhux se jaċċettaw. Imma tal-inqas nixtieq li ma jpoġġuniex mal-pedofeli jew f’Diviżjoni 6.”

Jitfaċċa argument ieħor li meta tisimgħu jtaqqlek. Nammetti li jien u nikteb nipprova nsib l-aħjar damma ta’ kliem. Inħalliha barra? Imma għaliex qed insibha bi tqila? Wara kollox min qiegħed imexxi u jara dawn il-moqżiżati jsiru mhux qed jiddarrass. Hu biss b’din il-kitba li din is-sitwazzjoni tista’ titranġa.

“Il-problemi li nħabbtu wiċċna magħhom mhumiex biss jekk inkunu priġunieri imma wkoll jekk immorru nżuru lil xi ħadd il-ħabs. Isiru tfittxjiet fuqna. Ara taħseb li jibagħtu mara, ta! Iħallu għassiesa rġiel jagħmlulna s-search.

“Ineżżgħuk għarwiena ħuta fil-kesħa u jitolbuk titbaxxa biex jaraw jekk għandekx droga moħbija fit-toqba tal-warrani.

“L-umiljazzjoni ma tiqafx hawn. Jitolbuk toħroġ il-parti tiegħek kollha barra.” Natal tieqaf ħesrem u b’vuċi issa bilkemm tinstema’ tkompli s-sentenza li farrket ftit sekondi qabel.

“L-għassies jgħidlek ‘oħroġ ir-ras tal-pene kollha barra’.” Natal tħares fiss f’għajnejha. M’għandhiex biża’ imma f’għajnejha nista’ naqra l-uġigħ li terfa’ magħha b’din is-sitwazzjoni.

Natal għada tagħlaq 34 sena. Għadha żgħira. Nammira li kellha l-kuraġġ toħroġ fil-beraħ. Ma ssibx problemi biex l-intervista ssir b’isimha. Nistaqsiha jekk jimpurtax jekk noħdulha ritratt għal mal-intervista. Taċċetta.
“Iva, mela le. Imma mhux toħodli r-ritratt hekk, ta’, b’xagħri mhux issettjat u kif jien bit-tracksuit. Għada għandi l-Qorti u kif inkun imbiddla nibqa’ ġejja ħdejk.
Natal titla’ l-Qorti. Il-kawża ġiet differita. Forsi r-rabja, forsì d-diżappunt. Il-mara tmur tinqafel id-dar.

L-intervista toħroġ bla ritratt.