Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1470553
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JUNE 2022 OPINION 10 Fr Colin Apap OPINION IVF amendments – a view "I cannot expect that the Government would propose a different law. It is up to Government how it legislates – since Government has to take into consideration the good of every citi- zen. However, I do have the obligation to indicate to those who choose to live as Christians that the disciple of Jesus has to live the Gospel and commit himself to live a truly authentic life. Otherwise we end up a religion of pick and choose." – Anton Teuma, Bishop of Gozo I agree 100% with the public stand the Bishop of Gozo is taking on the government's proposed legislation on IVF amendments being discussed in parliament. My agreement with him is because I trust him; he is transpar- ent and his lifestyle transpires pure good news. He has no hidden agenda and he carries the smell of his sheep just as Pope Francis portrays the true shepherd finding his way forward in a church that is a field hospital. Even our Constitution guarantees freedom of teaching by our bishops. I am prompted to write this article af- ter a Xejk TV programme, where par- ticipants commented that couples who seek IVF would be seeking "the easiest way out". The same insensitive atti- tude of people who have never found themselves in such situations. People who have not accompanied couples who long to have a healthy child dur- ing their tortuous journey can never show genuine empathy. When accompanying such couples, I lived with them the tensions, the de- spair, the fear, the helplessness and hopelessness when they had to face one IVF after another, without ever having the chance to embrace their own baby. Yet I have met 'Catholic' voices who play lip service in words of solidarity and compassion but deep down they never cared about the suffering such couples have to pass through. One day I was visiting a home who had just had the first baby. Proud of her first-born the mother came to present me her beautiful healthy baby. All of a sudden, she began to cry. I could not understand. She told me that she went to church and was told, "this is the son of sin!" – because he was born by IVF! I hugged and danced with the innocent baby! It is this bigotry, insensitivity, often in the name of God or the Church that makes me feel bad to form part of such religious cliques. They live in a reli- gious bubble echoing their own vision of life – and death. It is this clericalism that a growing number of people don't feel at home with. It is the same bubble that produced the known reaction when they pro- posed, in the name of the local church, their learned position papers on di- vorce, same-sex marriage, adoption by same-sex couples, IVF, homosexuality etc. People who are suffering in such a situation are never, if ever, appoint- ed to such learned elite committees. When official papers promoted by the RTK 'bubble mentality' are published, one notices that there is no place in such elite committees, for homosex- uals and LGBTIQ+ people who live their own reality and feel excluded. When I ask who the members are and who chose them I realize that they are the same people who carry different caps. The people, the hoi polloi, gener- ally, use their own intelligence and act according to their inner voice, formed and informed. The sensus fidelium is stronger than the books of the elite. People in the bubble normally are against any change – until themselves or someone in their own clan would need that change. Usually they tend to belong to the right of the political spectrum. Trump, Salvini and Putin are exam- ples of those who live in the 'bubble'. The scene of Donald Trump bran- dishing the Bible in front of a church in Washington, DC, following the as- sassination of George Floyd, remains imprinted in our memory. A year earlier, there had been anoth- er distasteful event: Matteo Salvini, leader of the Lega Nord party in Ita- ly, entrusting Italy to the Virgin Mary and kissing a rosary at a political rally while creating a climate of hate against immigration. In addition, only recent- ly, we saw Russian President Vladimir Putin refer to Bible verses to justify his decision to invade Ukraine. When pastors become politicians, they lose their role. Hegemony of Church-political parties in Malta, throughout decades, has alienated many people from the Church. We are still weeding Maltese history to realize that church subservience to partisan politics has only one loser – the church itself. These politicians use religion for the advancement of their ideology. They feel they have the whole truth – because those in the same 'bubble' re- inforce their self-righteousness. Scientific facts determine the out- come of the IVF amendments. If, as I believe it would, the voting of MPs follows the Whip's decisions, then the law will be reformed according to the government's majority. Unfortunately, ideology, not reason, takes over – and by summer all laws will be implement- ed and forgotten. The questions and asnwers What can a couple do to ensure a healthy baby when science shows the presence of defective genes that render the quality of life impossible? Prayers and belief can help. However, God gave us an intelligent mind to use it. Two alternatives are proposed. The government's: prenatal genet- ic testing involves screening embryos for certain genetic diseases. Embryos found to carry such conditions are in most countries discarded and thrown away, however, Health Minister Chris Fearne has said in Malta they would be kept frozen and offered for adoption. The Commission for the Rights of Per- sons with Disability (CRPD) agreed with PGT. Doctors for Life: That at the point of fertilisation, a new human life has begun, whether this happens natural- Colin Apap is a priest and radio personality Fr Colin Apap proposes some provocative ref lections on the current debate in Parliament on IVF amendments, analysing the different positions being debated and delving into Fr Peter Seracino Inglott's stand, and the Maltese constitutional implications on freedom of religion