US campaigners urge Pope to stress inclusivity in Malta visit
A Hindu politician and a Jewish Rabbi have asked Pope Benedict to take-up the issue of equal treatment of all religions and denominations before the law in Malta during his apostolic visit to the country in April 2010.
The two men have already appealed to the United Nations to bring Malta in line on equal treatment on the ‘public vilification’ of religions.
Malta’s criminal code provides for a maximum six months’ imprisonment for the Roman Catholic religion and three months for other religions.
Rajan Zed, a Hindu and Indo-American ‘statesman’ from Nevada, and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California, in a statement said that except for the Roman Catholic religion, other religions and denominations including Hinduism and Judaism were “just one of the cults” in the Maltese legal system.
Zed and Freirich said that it seemed to imply that except Roman Catholic, other religions and denominations including Hinduism and Judaism were just one of the cults in the eyes of Malta.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, and Rabbi Freirich, also urged Pope to lobby Malta to replace the subject of “religion” with “comparative religion” in its public primary and secondary schools, to teach basics of all major world religions, including the viewpoint of non-believers.
The two preachers pointed out that opening-up Maltese children to major world religions and non-believers’ viewpoint would make them well-nurtured, well-balanced, and enlightened citizens of tomorrow.
“Since the Pope is highly revered in Malta, his words would prove very effective in bringing religious equality and inclusiveness in the island nation. Besides meeting the Catholic majority, the Pope should also meet the leaders of minority communities of Protestants, Orthodox, other Christian denominations, Muslims, Hindus, Baha’is, Jews, Wiccans/Neo-Pagans, and people with “no religion” in Malta to hear their viewpoint. As a dominating majority in Malta, Catholics and the Pope have a moral responsibility to take care of minority brothers and sisters from different faith backgrounds.”
Pope Benedict XVI reportedly plans to visit Malta for a day in April next to commemorate the 1,950th anniversary of St Paul’s shipwreck on the island.
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