Disability terms in the Maltese Bible

I refer to a very interesting article by Fr Joe Borg (Doing ourselves a favour, The Sunday Times, December 20), especially the reference to certain biblical passages used in the liturgy.

Fr Borg says that in the Maltese version of the Scripture there are words like "l-immankati", "iz-zopop" and "il-magħtuba" that are read during Mass and that these very words damage the full inclusion of people carrying such conditions in our society.

First and foremost, I wish to point out that immankati does not feature in any of the Maltese versions of the Bible whereas the other two do.

I would like to assure everyone that this matter is taken very seriously by the Interdiocesan Commission for the Liturgy; action was in fact taken in 2008 and is still ongoing in full collaboration with all the stakeholders involved.

When work started on the revision of the Sunday Lectionary more than two years ago, there was a process of identification of translation inconveniences that might cause the same feelings and thoughts expressed by Fr Borg. In fact, one of the major problems was the issue of people with a disability.

Various steps have been considered to find a solution. Other foreign versions of the Lectionary published in the last few years have been consulted to see what stance was taken. Mainly, the Italian and American interpretations were analysed.

After careful scrutiny, it was evident that these versions retained the current words that also appear in the Maltese version. As a commission, we were still not satisfied with the outcome, so we approached the National Commission for People with a Disability (KNPD), which suggested that the word persuna be inserted immediately before every disability mentioned.

So, for instance, in the first reading of the Third Sunday of Advent Year A, where there is written "Imbagħad jinfetħu għajnejn l-għomja, jinfetħu widnejn it-torox. Imbagħad iz-zopp jaqbeż bħal għażżiela u l-lsien l-imbikkma jinħall bil-ferħ" becomes "Imbagħad jinfetħu għajnejn il-persuni għomja, jinfetħu widnejn il-persuni torox. Imbagħad il-persuna zoppa taqbeż bħal għażżiela u l-lsien il-persuna mbikkma jinħall bil-ferħ."

We referred this to local Biblical scholars. According to them, the introduction of persuna is possible though it makes the text quite pedantic. However, they stressed the importance of going back to the source, that is the Greek version.

They declared that in the Greek text, this is a case of anarthrous constructions (as it is called in Greek) where there is an omission of the definite article. Thus, in the original text, proper nouns like "għomja, zopop, imġiddmin (jew lebbrużi)" carry no article. Therefore, in Greek, the emphasis is on the condition being cured by Christ while by introducing the term persuna, the focus drifts more on the person rather than the condition.

Another example is the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Lent Year A. The KNPD makes the following suggestion: "Jien ġejt fid-dinja biex nagħmel ħaqq, biex min ma jarax isir jara, u min jara jsir ma jarax. Xi wħud mill-Fariżej li kienu hemm madwaru semgħuh jgħid dan u staqsewh: "Aħna wkoll persuni għomja?" Weġibhom Ġesù: "Li kieku kontu persuni għomja ma kontux tkunu ħatja ta' dnub". In the Greek version, the passage says "u min jara jsir għama... Aħna wkoll għomja? ... Li kieku kontu għomja ma kontux ..."

It is evident that the focus of this passage, taken from the Gospel of St John chapter 9, is not on the person with special needs as such but on the light of faith that Christ wants to bring out. Thus, according to biblical scholars, we cannot emphasise the person but the disability as Jesus makes a comparison of the utmost importance.

He compares the disabled person who is healed because he believes in the Son of Man with the Jews and Pharisees to whom he attributes blindness because of their lack of faith. In this passage, the focus on the disability is pivotal as it gives sense and meaning to Christ's message.

The Interdiocesan Commission for the Liturgy did its best because this matter is close to our hearts and we are still working on it. However, the Holy Scripture is not a text to be handled lightly. Any work done on it should be carried out with great responsibility and humility. Furthermore, though I fully understand and share Fr Borg's feelings, "changing the text while reading" as he confessed doing during Mass is not permissible according to official Church documents.