Born Again Christian says illness and disability is the result of original sin

Many are outraged after TV personality and Born Again Christian, Phyllisienne Brincat's beliefs that sickness and disability are caused by original sin were aired on TVM's Popolin on Wednesday night.

In an episode that featured debates on religion, the show's host, Quinton Scerri questioned Brincat, a self-described devout Christian, about what she stated while cameras weren't rolling concerning a connection between disease and original sin.  

Brincat reiterated her claim that, in accordance with the Bible, mankind was doomed when Adam and Eve introduced sin into the earth, and that illness occurs due to this form of sin. 

The presenter is no stranger to criticism due to her religious beliefs. In 2019, Brincat enraged parents of children with autism after broadcasting a video purporting to show a child who was ‘cured’ from autism.

Brincat was confronted on her beliefs on the programme. When she said that her sister has Down Syndrome, Scerri asked, "So your sister is the fruit of sin? Where is the sin coming from?"

"From Adam's sin!" she shouted.

In response to her statements, The Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability condemned her comments.

"The idea that disability is linked to the sins of previous generations is, as Jacob Callus rightly pointed out on the same programme, completely insulting, and will only lead to the further stigmatization of persons with disability," the commission said, describing her comments as hate speech.

"The disability sector has come a long way from these antiquated ideas and these opinions are completely detrimental to the acknowledgement that persons with disability should be given the respect they are entitled to as equal citizens in Malta," the commission concluded.