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11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JULY 2020 NEWS KURT SANSONE AN Equality Bill that has ruf- fled feathers may be tweaked to allay fears expressed by Church schools over the recruitment of teachers, MaltaToday has learnt. The Bill is currently at commit- tee stage in parliament and de- bate on the contentious Clause 6 that deals with exceptions had been postponed during the last sitting in March. "Equality Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and Opposition MPs Claudette Buttigieg and Therese Comodini Cachia have been trying to find a compromise on the wording to allay fears ex- pressed by Church schools and religious organisations," sourc- es close to the government told MaltaToday. Concerns were reiterated re- cently by Church schools over an exception that is limited only to the recruitment of teachers of religion. The schools want the exception to go further to ensure that all recruitment reflects the Catholic ethos of the respective schools. "There is a lot of misinforma- tion and irrational fear out there but government is seeking some form of compromise that would still respect the core principles of the Bill to protect against discrimination of all kinds," the sources said. Some of the changes being con- sidered target the recruitment of teachers in Church schools, a clearer exception to protect the display of religious symbols, and the possibility of including a clause on conscientious objec- tion. It remains unclear whether the government proposal will go far enough to address the con- cerns being raised though. Mal- taToday is not privy to the legal wording. The Equality Bill is aimed at stamping out discrimination of all kinds. It deals with issues such as denial of services and al- so recruitment, making it illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, age, religious belief, state of health and other "protected character- istics". Clause 6 lists the exceptions that may apply and one of these is for the recruitment of teachers of religion, where an employer can insist that the choice of per- son depend also on the individ- ual's "beliefs, creed or religion". An Opposition amendment proposed last March wanted to extend this exception to the recruitment of all teachers em- ployed by educational establish- ments whose ethos is based on belief, creed or religion. During that meeting, the gov- ernment argued that there was no reason why a Church school should discriminate against a teacher of mathematics if that person was an atheist because his personal belief was irrelevant to the subject being taught. However, discussion on the matter was suspended, pending further exchanges between both sides. Over the past couple of weeks, religious groups and Church schools have publicly expressed concern over the Equality Bill. The Church Schools Associa- tion, the Secretariat for Catho- lic Education, the Council of Major Religious Superiors and representatives of parent organ- isations whose children attend Church schools, expressed "se- rious reservations" on the draft law. They insisted that the proposed law was undermining freedom of religious belief with "dire con- sequences" on the expression of a Catholic ethos inherent in Church schools. "Should this draft law not be amended, Catholic educators can be asked to promote val- ues which go against their con- science," the statement read. Similar concerns were ex- pressed by evangelical pastors. ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Equality Bill that ruffled feathers in Church schools may be tweaked Some of the changes considered are the recruitment of teachers in Church schools, a clearer exception on religious symbols, and the possibility of a clause on conscientious objection Archbishop Charles Scicluna at a church school visit: faith schools want to protect their rights to recruit teachers who profess their faith even when this might not be a genuine requirement in captivity may be tamed but it will always be considered as caged and therefore I feel it is cruel to be held in captivity. Therefore, wildlife is for the wild, and not included." Busuttil also said animal breeders would be excluded from being able to claim an allowance, as it would "en- courage breeders, and we should encourage adoption rather than breeding". Busuttil also proposed a state-of-the-art national sanctuary for medical facili- ties and boarding for animals for persons with emergen- cies. "For those travelling on holiday, boarding will be cheap and affordable," Busut- til said. He said the institution would act as the headquar- ters for animal welfare, re- search and educational ser- vices. "If we can afford a free public hospital for us all, I do believe it can be financially feasible. Just as much as we have public or private hospi- tals for us humans, then for our family-pets there should also be this choice in caring for abandoned animals and also for pets who live within our households." Busuttil said there are al- ready incentives in place within the present admin- istration to encourage pet adoption, but said there were none to help families once a pet had died. "I was one of the many who personally ex- perienced the pain of a loss of a loved pet and had serious problems in finding a way to respectfully bury or cre- mate my little Sushi. Animal Sanctuary now provides cre- mation services at a price – I would like to see the setting up of a free national crema- torium for pets together with a national pet cemetery," he said. Busuttil said there is also an ever-growing problem with stray cats and called for a na- tional neutering programme, and numbering system for the upkeep of the animals. "Food vouchers should also be given to volunteers who lovingly keep and feed home- less cats." Dog-lover: Felix Busuttil had complained on Facbeook that he had no options for him to dispose of his Shitsu pet dog Sushi (not pictured) in a dignified manner