It is only a matter of time before the Church becomes more open to gay rights and sex before marriage but first the idea that the body is separate from the soul has to change, according to Dominican Fr Mark Montebello.
The friar, renowned for his controversial remarks, was speaking at a public lecture, entitled Holy But Unequal: The Impact Of Religion On Gender, held at the Osborne Hotel, Valletta, last week.
Fr Montebello was transferred to Mexico for three months last year following articles he wrote about divorce and paedophilia. The year before that he had been disciplined by his superior in Malta for “offending the sentiments of the Maltese” after he said he believed Jesus was in favour of divorce and that crucifixes did not need to be “flaunted” in public buildings.
Fr Montebello said at the lecture that the constant fight between religion and mentality oppressed religion itself and kept society from progressing.
He said this stemmed from the concept of dualism – the separation of the spiritual from the physical, a notion that originated with the Greek philosopher Plato. “Plato was the first to instil this idea that the soul can live without the body but the body cannot live without the soul,” he said, adding that the structure of the Catholic Church was built on this concept.
Categories: Malta
I believe Friar Montebello is ahead of the curve in regards to gender and Catholocism. Unfortunately it is often the people who first support a “radical” idea that are punished. I applaud what must not have been an easy decision for him.