Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/985406
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 MAY 2018 7 NEWS ANALYSIS both conservatives and progres- sives in the Church should be respected. Yet party supporters, including OPM officer Josef Caruana, have recently signed a petition call- ing for the removal of the Arch- bishop for re-tweeting an article which drew comparisons be- tween the mafia and the political patronage in Malta. The petition invited the Pope to replace Sci- cluna with an "apolitical" person. Moreover if Montebello is right in openly questioning Church choices, one cannot at the same time expect more conservative elements in the Church to re- main silent when facing legisla- tion, which they oppose. Underlying the conflict be- tween Montebello and con- servatives in the Church is the perennial matter of which is- sues should be given priority by the Church. This is an instance where a wide spectrum of opin- ions exists within the Church. Is the Church a club? It is not just Labour supporters who appear contradictory. Some PN supporters who nor- mally defend the Church's right to speak up on social and po- litical issues, are not so comfort- able when this freedom is used to question the choices made by the Church hierarchy which more often than not is in agree- ment with the PN. The argument that Montebello should either abide by the rules of the club or leave it, does reso- nate with a substantial chunk of the population, including non believers who are baffled by Montebello's persistence in re- maining part of an institution, which he constantly rebukes. Yet this argument falls short of the historical reality of theChurch, which has a long tradition of de- bate between different theologi- cal and ideological strands. There have been rare instances where priests were defrocked. In 1985 Nicaraguan Culture Minister Ernesto Cardenal was officially defrocked for refusing to resign his government post in the revolutionary Sandinista government. Liberal theologian Hans Kung was banned from teaching Cath- olic theology after rejecting the dogma of papal infallibility but he was never defrocked. But the Church has also showed a degree of tolerance to- wards a wide spectrum of views. The Church in Italy has co- existed with rebels like the late Don Andrea Gallo who advocat- ed the legalisation of soft drugs and who at the venerable age of 81, participated in the Gen- ova Pride in 2009, complaining about the uncertainties of the Catholic Church in respect of homosexuality. At 84 he said that the Catholic Church needs an openly gay pope. But such diversity is not only found in the periphery of the Church. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, pres- ident of the German bishops' conference, had twice vindicat- ed positions expressed by Mark Montebello. In 2009 Mark Montebello was censored because of his claim that crucifixes did not need to be "flaunted" in public buildings. The same position was ex- pressed by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the head of the German Bishops' Conference, who is opposing a move to introduce crucifixes in public buildings in Bavaria. Marx insists that the crucifix should never be used as a symbol of identity to exclude others. In 2015 Mark Montebel- lo was summoned to the Curia for a meeting with the Archbish- op after blessing the rings in an engagement ceremony between two gay men. Three years later when asked about the same issue the same leading German cardinal replied that any decision on blessing same sex unions should be taken by "the pastor on the ground, and the individual under pasto- ral care". Moreover Montebello is often accused of undermining the Church from within. But he remains a reference point for a minority of Maltese Catho- lics, who do not feel repre- sented by the curia, thus contributing to keeping them in the fold. The fact that gay couples had asked for his blessing un- derlies his role as an interme- diary with social categories, that feel emarginated by the official Church despite their yearning for acceptance. Labour's favourite priest? Over the past days many Labour supporters, who mainly used his case to lash out at the Archbishop whom they resent for being politically out- spoken, have hailed Mark Mon- tebello as a hero. Ironically under PN adminis- trations, it was PN supporters who were irked by Montebello's statements. Montebello was also vocifer- ous on environmental issues un- der previous PN governments, going as far as joining activists protesting against the destruc- tion of the Kalkara valley. Montebello's pro-labour cre- dentials were reinforced by his friendship with former La- bour leader Dom Mint- off. This was only part of the pic- ture. Montebello never shied away from unpopular causes and has been vilified across the political spectrum for his stance on prisoners' rights and migra- tion. He disagreed with a paedo- phile register; he defended im- migrants like the Nigerian Mon- day Iseki, who was charged with resisting arrest; and he even claimed Jesus was in favour of divorce. Scicluna's predecessor, the fellow Dominican Paul Cremona, under whose term the rebel priest found himself exiled in Mexico, did not turn any stone to defend Montebello. Since Labour was elected Montebello has been noticeably less vociferous. Yet he did sign a number of statements which were signed by left-wing intellectuals ques- tioning Labour's neo liberal drift and has continued to defend Malta's constitutional neutral- ity. Ultimately it may well be time to realise that priests with strong independent minds, be they Charles Scicluna, Father Joe Borg, or Mark Montebello can- not be neutralised and expected to be politically equidistant. In the twisted logic of Maltese partisanship priests are only praised for being outspoken whenever what they have to say is music to partisan ears. The argument that Montebello should either abide by the rules of the club or leave it, does resonate with a substantial chunk of the population