I recently had the opportunity to visit the Mayan ruins, in Chichen Itza. Considered by many to be one of the seven wonders of the world, the site is described by Unesco as “one of the most impressive testimonies to the Maya-Toltec civilisation of the Yucatan (10th to 15th centuries)”. Yucatan is today one of the federal states of Mexico.
Everything about this place is fascinating though what is truly marvellous is how long before the so-called ‘discovery of the Americas’ the Mayans had already developed scientific concepts in areas such as mathematics and astronomy, some of which were far well ahead of their contemporaries in Europe.
Indeed, let us not forget that, in the early years of the 17th century, in Italy, Galileo Galilei was found guilty of heresy for supporting the Copernican theory that the earth and the other planets revolved around the sun, thus challenging the Aristotelian doctrine that was the leading scientific authority for the Catholic Church and, hence, the one and only established order as laid down by the Church.
When the Spanish eventually arrived in Yucatan, they considered worship of the Mayan feathered serpent deity, Kukulkan, as devil worship and proceeded to pull down images of the serpent, utilising the very same stones they dismantled to build Christian churches. As a result, the conquistadors hoped that the Mayans would more easily identify with the new religion imposed by the invaders from across the ocean.
Moreover, all but four of the Mayan texts were burnt to ashes because they were considered as a threat to the Christian faith. Fortunately, these four texts have survived and provide a unique insight into the Mayan language and culture.
As I was viewing what is left of the magnificent complex of buildings at Chichen Itza and after listening to our tour guide who, admittedly, had a strong anti-Spanish bias, I could not help thinking about our situation in Europe today and in Malta particularly where, once again, a small group of people is trying to use religion and culture as a pretext for suffocating diversity.
The faithful should be educated to practise mercy rather than being judgmental and condemnatory
Just like the Spanish missionaries who mistook Kukulkan for the devil, different religious beliefs and those who wish to manifest these beliefs publicly are being told that they should do so without being seen because our Constitution provides that Malta has an official religion, which is the Roman Catholic one and, therefore, only Roman Catholics have the right to worship in public.
Some Europeans still have a sense of superiority when it comes to diversity. Non-practising Christians protest against what they perceive as an Islamic invasion of Europe. Practising Christians, on the other hand, gather in their thousands, as they did in Italy last week, to seek to deny fellow citizens their basic civil liberties such as the right to have their relationship recognised by the State irrespective of sexual orientation.
I still fail to understand how two men or two women entering into a civil union can be considered as a threat to the family. If two persons, who happen to be of the same sex, love each other to the extent that they wish to commit to one another and to have such a commitment recognised by the State, thereby giving rise to legal rights and obligations, this can only, in my view, strengthen the very foundations of our society, that is the family.
Fortunately, almost all countries in Western Europe recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions and, hopefully, Italy will complete the picture when the Italian Parliament votes on the Bill that will introduce civil unions in Italy.
Italy’s position on such issues has always been a bit more complicated than other countries because the Holy See has its headquarters in the sovereign territory called the Vatican City. Moreover, the Pope is the bishop of Rome and Primate of Italy. So far, successive pontiffs have used these roles to exert significant influence on Italian politicians.
If Archbishop Charles Scicluna considers the Church in Malta to be playing in second division, the Church in Italy almost certainly thinks it’s in Serie A. However, since Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s election in 2013, the Bishop of Rome has, on many occasions, indicated that he is not happy with his bishops getting involved in domestic politics.
Following last Saturday’s rally, one could not fail to notice how, although the president of the Italian Bishops Conference, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, openly backed the public manifestation dubbed ‘Family Day’, the secretary general, Bishop Nunzio Galantino, who was directly appointed by Pope Francis, was more cautious.
Although reiterating what the Church teaches about marriage being a union between a man and a woman, in an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera on January 13, the bishop stated that it is the duty of the State to legislate on “different types of unions” that are growing in society.
Moreover, he stated that the ItalianBishops Conference would neither promote nor block the rally eventually held last Saturday and that if a bishop wanted to participate he could do so in a personal capacity and without expecting other bishops to also do so.
The bishop would be more at ease with Kukulkan than his fellow cardinal.
I feel that, in Malta, the Catholic hierarchy should give a clear lead in not providing any endorsement, official or unofficial, to attempts to use Catholicism as a pretext to curtail the rights and liberties of others.
In my last commentary, a fortnight ago, I had referred to the comments by two parish priests who, in my opinion, showed lack of respect towards people holding other religious beliefs. Sometimes, in the social media, some posts by priests or religious remind me more of the conquistadors than of a Church celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy.
I appeal to the competent religious authorities to do their utmost to ensure that, once the Lenten period commences this Wednesday, the sermons and other celebrations and devotions are used as an opportunity to educate the faithful into practising mercy rather than being judgmental and condemnatory.
The last time a devout Lenten celebration, the procession of Our Lady of Sorrows, was inappropriately used to rally the faithful against divorce, the result was a 53 per cent majority actually voting against the position supported by the Church.
Lent falls during the final weeks of the winter season. This year, Easter will occur just a few days after the spring equinox. In Chichen Itza, on that day, in the late afternoon, the rays of the sun create the illusion of a serpent slowly creeping down the northern staircase of the main pyramid.
For Christians, Easter is no illusion but should represent a celebration of life and universal love. No article in our Constitution may guarantee that but only the genuine will to respect each and every individual. At the end of the day, this is no religious tenant but a characteristic of belonging to a truly civilised society.