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Article 2. (1) of the Maltese Constitution states that: The religion of Malta is the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion.
But does that make us all Catholics? Does that mean that all Maltese have to be Catholics? Does that make it unconstitutional not to be a Catholic? Of course, the answer to all these questions is no. This article in our
Constitution, just like the one succeeding it which states that a representation of the George Cross is to be part of our national flag, is today irrelevant to the majority of the Maltese people.
That is why I was somewhat perplexed to read (Malta Today 3 April 05) that Dr Anglu Farrugia is opposed to the EU Constitution because it contains no reference to God and Christianity and that its approval will pave the way for Muslim countries like Turkey to join the EU.
I always thought that socialist politicians would be the last people to mix politics with religion especially if one has lived through or still remembers the 60s. And what happened to the idea of an international socialist brotherhood? This was and still is very important to the international socialist movement. I never thought that this means a brotherhood that will exclude Muslims or for that matter people with different religions, or no religion at all.
I am sure that there might be many reasons for rejecting the proposed EU
Constitution but these are not the ones mentioned by Dr Farrugia.
Just as article 2. (1) of our Constitution does not make us better citizens by proclaiming that our religion is the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion I am sure that any reference to God and Christianity in any future EU Constitution will not make us better citizens or for that matter better Christians.
George Busuttil
Marsaskala
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