I have a small question for all those infuriated Christians out there – you know, the ones who never miss an opportunity to loudly show off their pious indignation at the recent ‘Italian crucifix ruling’ by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
It is a question specifically directed at those last seen (and heard) on Xarabank two Fridays ago, where there was much weeping, gnashing of teeth and rending of garments in a purely Pharisean display of moral outrage. Not by any coincidence, these are the same people who seem to think that: a) the ECHR is part of the European Union (it isn’t); b) the decision had something to do with ‘multiculturalism’ (it didn’t); and above all, c) that Jesus Christ Himself would no doubt share their ire at the same court ruling (this is naturally debatable, but Matthew 22:21 strongly suggests He wouldn’t... and I happen to agree with Matthew on this one).
Anyway, here’s the question: Who would you yourselves turn to, O morally outraged Christian multitudes, if your own country’s government should suddenly turn around and defecate all over your individual and supposedly inalienable human rights?
Hang on, what’s that noise? Sounded suspiciously like a penny dropping. OK, tell you what: let’s make it multiple choice... this way, not only will it be more fun, but you might hit upon the correct answer entirely by accident (like I had a habit of not doing with my chemistry exams at school):
In case of a human rights infringement involving yourself, your family or your property, which of the following entities would you turn to for effective remedy?
a) Jesus Christ;
b) Archbishop Paul Cremona;
c) Pope Benedict XI;
d) The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which would not even exist if most of you had your way?
In the interest of fairness (and because, let’s face it, the same anti-ECHR brigade also claims to be the victim of ‘discrimination’) let’s treat all options equally, and attach due consideration to each one... starting with Jesus Christ, who I assume needs no introduction.
I’ll try to be concise. If there is truth to the belief that the Son of Man will return on Judgement Day to right all wrongs, atone for all human suffering, and cast all wrongdoers into the pit of Hell... well, then quite frankly I can understand perfectly how some people may no longer feel the need for a European Court of Human Rights. In fact I would be the first to question the relevance of any earthly system or institution which purports to dispense justice here on Planet Earth. For what point would there be in filing an expensive law suit for a case that could drag on for years – only to deliver what might in any case be a miscarriage of justice – when all you have to do is wait a little longer, and be rewarded with eternal, infallible and unimpeachable justice, meted out in no time at all and for absolutely free?
Ah yes, but as in all things that sound too good to be true, there is a tiny snag. In order to qualify for this particular type of justice, you first have to be:
a) Christian (which only precludes around 5.6 billion people around the world);
b) Someone who has lived his or her life according to the tenets of Christianity (thus having already forgiven the said national government for all its transgressions, including your own human rights violation), and;
c) ... DEAD.
You are of course aware that there is a difference – alive, dead, dead, alive, that sort of thing – so I will leave it entirely up to you to decide whether justice under such circumstances is worth all the joyful hope.
Next up is Archbishop Paul Cremona: and here I admit the situation is slightly more complex. The Archbishop has, to a degree, led the chorus of criticism directed at the EHCR, so I suppose it would only be reasonable to expect him to assume all its responsibilities, should the same court be dismantled as a result of its Italy ruling (note: the dismantling of this court is unfortunately a very real possibility to which I shall return at a later stage – promise).
Whether Mgr Cremona would be capable of meting such justice is anybody’s guess – let’s just say that, unlike the European Court in Strasbourg, he can always fall back on the entire pantheon of Catholic saints and martyrs in Heaven for legal advice. But I somehow doubt he would accept the responsibility if it were ever conferred upon him, for the following, very simple reason.
Isn’t this the same Archbishop Paul Cremona who washed his hands of any legal responsibility for the excesses of the local village festa? And didn’t the same Mgr Cremona – quite rightly, I hasten to add – argue that it should be the police, and not the Church authorities, to intervene when a drunk Catholic reveller vandalises public property, and/or breaks a bottle on his neighbour’s head, and/or occasionally blows himself (and half his village) to smithereens in a failed pyrotechnics experiment?
Yes indeed. At least the Archbishop knows the world has progressed slightly since the days of St Thomas Beckett in the 12th century, and that there is no longer a legal distinction between Church and State when it comes to judicial matters. I wish I could say the same for his flock... many of whom seem to think they enjoy a Papal dispensation from the Criminal Code, only applicable for one weekend of the year.
However, in a monumental irony which people like me get to enjoy around once in a lifetime, the same morally outraged Christians who howled so loudly at the crucifix issue on Xarabank, turned savagely on their own Archbishop (on the same TV programme, too) and howled even louder at his suggestion that their own parish priest should report them to the police whenever they broke any State laws.
Oh dear. If this were an internet chat room I’d be tempted to write ‘LOL’ (laugh out loud), or possibly even LMAO (laughin’ my ass off)... trouble is, a) this isn’t an Internet chat room, and b) I occasionally need my ass to sit down upon, so I’d much rather keep it on for the time being, thank you very much.
But coming back to the issue at stake: isn’t it astonishing, how of all people it had to be the Archbishop to argue in favour of more separation between Church and state; and of all people that it had to be Malta’s Catholics to so violently resist?
Onto the other options now, and I’ve decided to leave out Pope Benedict XI for the time being – after all, he’s coming here next April and if I’m going to say anything about him at all, I’d prefer to do it face to face. This leaves us with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg – at least, for as long as this institution continues to exist, and continues to operate within its current parameters – and here the prospects begin to a look a little more, well, believable.
To be honest, however, the ECHR’s continued existence is by no means written in stone... though the parameters are indeed written into the Lisbon Treaty: ratified in 2008 by the same Nationalist and Labour parties which now publicly rubbish the same Court’s crucifix verdict. Certainly the ECHR has its enemies, and I can assure you all that the reason has very little to do with Jesus Christ.
I won’t bore you with a list of rulings by the ECHR in recent years, but let’s just say that the overwhelming majority involved cases brought against national governments by private citizens. Naturally the court rules both yea and nay, but when you consider that national governments so often play the part of defendants in its halls – and bear in mind this is the only court to enjoy this power, if you don’t count the United Nations’ Security Council – can you possibly claim to be surprised that it happens to be two national governments, Italy and Malta, to be currently attempting to discredit, devalue and ultimately weaken the same institution that so often rules against them? And as I tried pointing out in the above paragraphs: who will there be left to turn to, if their efforts are successful, and national governments continue to infringe their citizens’ rights?
At the risk of being stoned for blasphemy, here is what the same concept would sound like, if it were an advert for MasterCard: ‘There is one kind of justice only Jesus Christ can dispense. For everything else, there is the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.’
Think of that before you cast the first stone.
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
Search:
MALTATODAY
BUSINESSTODAY
Download MaltaToday Sunday issue front page in pdf file format
All the interviews from Reporter on MaltaToday's YouTube channel.
