ROLLING BACK THE TIDE OF MARRIAGE BREAKDOWN – SPEECHES

Id-diskors ta’ E.T. Isqof Mario Grech matul il-konferenza organizzata minn ProgettImpenn, nhar is-Sibt 15 ta’ Mejju, 2010, bit-tema ‘Rolling Back the Tide of Marriage Breakdown’:

Djanjosi ta’ pazjent tiehu f’kunsiderazzjoni kemm is-sintomi tal-marda, kif ukoll il-kawza ta dawk l-effetti! Tkun mizura dghajfa jekk wiehed jikkura l-gerhat ta persuna diabetika, minghajr ma jindirizza l-marda tad-diabete!

Inhoss li dan qed jigri ukoll fostna meta nitkellmu dwar it-tishih taz-zwieg u lfamilja. Huwa importanti li wiehed jitfa dawl fuq il-periklu ta forom emergenti talfamilja, dwar kruha tat-tifrik tal-familji, id-divorzju, il-koabitazzjoni, il-permessivita sesswali etc. Imma nemmen li dawn huma biss sintomi socjali li aktar milli ghandhom jigu ndirizzati bhala diffikultajiet fihom infushom, hemm bzonn nintebhu x’inhu l-isem tal-marda. Dawn il-problemi matrimonjali u familjari huma l-effett ta kawza ezistenzjali wisq aktar profonda u aktar wiesgha. Nifhem li l-azzjoni urgenti li tehtieg is-socjeta taghna hija li bis-serjeta tindividwalizza l-gherq li kontinwament qed innebbet ferghat godda li huma bghula.

Barra minn hekk, din ix-xorta ta riflessjoni hija utli biex hekk tissahhah ilmotivazzjoni wara certi ghazliet, anke fil-kamp tal-familja, li l-bniedem jemmen li ghandu jaghmel llum – aktar u aktar meta dawn huma ghazliet li jmorru kontra lmainstream tas-socjeta attwali! Hafna drabi mhux bizzejjed li wiehed jippreskrivi certa medicina jew stili ta hajja lil marid, ghax jekk il-pazjent ma jkunux konvint li ma jistax ma jiehux dik il-medicina jew ma jaddottax dak l-istil ta hajja, kollox jibqa ghaddej!

Filwaqt li Samuel Huntington jghid li llum il-kawza tal-konlfitti fid-dinja huwa l-iskontru bejn ic-civiltajiet, James Kurth jippreciza illi l-iskontru veru li qed nassistu ghalih mhux tant bejn bejn ic-civiltajiet l-kbar tad-dinja [il-Punent, id-dinja islamika u l-Konfucjanizmu ta Lvant], imma t-tensjoni u l-konflitti fic-civilta tal-Punent – bejn dawk li ghandhom vizzjoni Lhudija-Kristjana tal-hajja u dawk li telqu din il-vizzjoni biex ihaddnu diversi skejjel ta hsieb bhalma huma l-feminizmu, il-multikulturalmizmu, illiberalizmu – liema diversita issib is-somma taghha f’dik li tissejjah “ortodossija sekularista” jew “sekularizmu”.

Forsi xi hadd jahseb li din tinvolvi tensjoni bejn ir-raguni u l-fidi! Filwaqt li ma naqqas xejn mill-ghajnuna li kapaci taghti l-Kelma t’Alla u t-tradizzjoni fil-Knisja biex il-bniedem jasal ghal verita, il-vizzjoni morali Kristjana mhix kontra r-raguni; anzi Robert P George, professor fil-jurisprudenza li kien wiehed mit-team li ipproduca d-Dikjarazzjoni ta Manhattan [Nov., 2009], itenni li “Christian moral teaching can be shown to be rationally superior to orthodox secular moral beliefs”.

Hija premessa ta min ghandu twemmin sekularista, li r-raguni umana mhix fakulta biex il-bniedem jiskopri x’inhu t-tajjeb li ghandu jaghmel; imma, huwa juza rraguni biex jikseb dawk il-mezzi li bihom ikun jista jilhaq dak li jixtieq – dak li tghidlu lpassjoni tieghu! Dan jikonfermah David Hume, filosofu li waqqaf is-sekularizmu modern, meta jghid li “Reason is and ought only to be slave of the passions, and may never pretend to any office other than to serve and to obey them”. Allura skond dawn irraguni ghandha funzjoni puramament strumentali: ir-raguni ma tghidilnix x’ghandna naghmlu, imma nuzawha biss biex niksbu dak li nixtiequ!

Infatti ghas-sekularisti, z-zwieg huwa biss ftehim legali biex ihares lemozzjonijiet tal-partijiet, li jistghu jkunu kemm ragel u mara kif ukoll tnejn ta l-istess orjentament sesswali! Il-permanenza, l-esklussivita u l-ftuh ghal hajja ma jaghmlux parti minn natura taz-zwieg, imma kollox huwa negozjabbli bejn il-partijiet – kollox jiddependi mir-rieda jew il-kunsens tal-partijiet f’dik l-esperjenza. Xi sekularisti jistghu jaslu biex jirrikonoxxu certu kontroll fuq l-attivita sesswali barra z-zwieg – pero mhux abbazi ta xi principju morali, imma minhabba raguni prudenzjali p.e. peress li lpromiskwita tista tkun okkazzjoni ta tixrid ta mard!

Fid-dawl tal-premess, jidhirli li ma ghandnix insibu diffikulta biex niddeterminaw il-kawza principali tas-sitwazzjoni presenti taz-zwiegijiet u l-familji f’pajjizna! Din il-filosfija sekularista b’morali utilitarista, iffumentat l-ghajta ghad-dritt ghall-abort, dritt ghad-divorzju, id-dritt taz-zwieg bejn zewg persuni ta l-istess sess, iddritt li wiehed jghix hajtu minghajr hadd ma jindahalu, lanqas l-Istat!

Effettivament il-kultura sekularista hija kultura li ggib ‘l quddiem issuggettivismu morali u r-relattivismu! Jekk ma noqghodux attenti, xi drabi anke xi diskors dwar il-primat tal-kuxjenza jista jkun ixaqleb lejn is-suggesstivismu pur! Mhuwiex biss il-Papa Benedettu XVI li sikwit iwissi kontra d-dittatura tar-relattivizmu morali u li din hija triq perikoluza, imma ukoll certi esponenti sekularisti qed jammettu li fl-ahhar mill-ahhar ir-relattivizmu ma huwiex konsistenti ma hafna claims morali taghhom stess, bhalma huwa fil-kaz tad-dritt ghall-abort, id-dritt ghal liberta sesswali, iddritt ghal mewt. Naghti ezempju: bil-kriterji sekularisti, jekk huwa dritt li li jkun hemm ligi li taghti d-divorzju, anke dawk li huma favur il-permanenza fiz-zwieg ghandhom id-dritt li jkollhom ligi li thares l-indissolubilita taz-zwieg! Filosofu politiku liberali maghruf, Joel Freinberg, wissa illi “Liberals must be aware of relativism, or at least, of a sweeping relativism, lest they be hoist on their own petard” Ghalhekk, fin-nuqqas ta principji morali fermi, kollox jindika li l-istess posizzjoni relattivista tas-sekularisti, qed thabbat wiccha ma problema filosofiku mhux zghir! U l-filosofu Alasdair MacIntyre josserva li skejjel ta hsieb dwar il-moralita jidhlu fi krizi meta huma stess iqajmu mistoqsijiet li huma stess ma jkollox twegiba ghalihom!

Mhux biss is-sekularisti sincieri jinsabu fi krizi, imma il-filosofija taghhom bil-pretensjonijiet li gabet maghha, dahlet u qed iddahhal fi krizi s-socjeta taghna! Fil-ktieb tieghu After Virtue, wara li jipprova kif falla l-pjan ta l-Illuminizmu u l-liberalismu biex iwaqqaf sistema morali fuq “secular reason”, MacIntyre ixxebbah ic-civilta ewropea u Amerikana ta zmienijietna ma zmien li wassal lill-Imperu Ruman f’dik l-epoka maghrufa bhala “z-zmienijiet tad-dlam”. Huwa jikteb illi f’dak izzmien, kien hemm persuni illi “turned aside from the task of shoring up the Roman imperium and ceased to identify the continuation of civility and moral community with the maintenance of that imperium. What they set themselves to achieve instead …. Was the construction of new forms of community within which the moral life could be sustained so that both morality and civility might survive the coming ages of barbarism and darkness”. MacIntyre ikompli li “for some time now we, too, have reached that turning point. What matters at this stage is the construction of local forms of community within which civility and the intellectual and moral life can be sustained through the new dark ages which are already upon us. And if the tradition of the virtues was able to survive the horrors of the last dark ages, we are not entirely without grounds for hope”.

Ahna mdorrijin nassocjaw il-Barbari ma dawk li kienu jaharqu l-bliet, l-irhula u d-djar! Illum, il-barbarismu huwa forza ta hsieb li mhux biss qieghed innizzel gharkubtejjhom istituzzjonijiet u strutturi politici kbar, imma qed jharbat in-nies u lfamilji taghna! Kif ikompli josserva MacIntrye issa “the barbarians are not waiting beyond the frontiers; they have been governing us for quite some time. And it is our lack of consciousness of this that constitutes part of our predicament”.

Ghalhekk, jekk tassew irridu naghmlu xi haga biex nilqghu kontra ilmewga ta tkissir taz-zwiegijiet u l-familji, filwaqt li huwa tajjeb li jsiru interventi biex jigu ndirizzati l-issues familjari partikulari, nemmen li hija urgenti l- “pastorali tal-hsieb”.

Huwa fatt posittiv li fostna ghandna diversi hassieba li, ghax huma konvinti li l-filosofija kristjana hija cavetta valida biex jinterpretaw ir-realta, taw u qed jaghtu kontribut fittiswir ta hsieb san. Ghandna naghtu aktar spazju lil dawn il-persuni, anke fil-Knisja, biex il-hsieb ikompli jiddakkar b’dakkir tajjeb! Imbaghad huwa importanti d-djalogu ma dawk li kollha li ghandhom fakulta li jghagnu l-hsieb u jiehdu decizjonijiet, jigifieri mal-hassieba, dawk li jghallmu, in-nies tal-kultura, tal-politika, tal-media, biex fi spirtu ta tfittix sincier naghrfu l-fallaci ta certi posizzjonijiet li qed jittiehdu u niskopru dak li ghandna naghmlu ghal harsien tazzwieg naturali a bazi ta certezzi, valuri u principji etici sodi. Huwa dan id-djalogu li inkoragixxa l-Papa Benedettu XVI f’intervista li ta lil gurnalisti waqt il-vjagg minn Ruma ghal Portugal: In these centuries of a dialectic between enlightenment, secularism and faith, there were always individuals who sought to build bridges and create a dialogue, but unfortunately the prevailing tendency was one of opposition and mutual exclusion. Today we see that this very dialectic represents an opportunity and that we need to develop a synthesis and a forward-looking and profound dialogue. In the multicultural situation in which we all find ourselves, we see that if European culture were merely rationalist, it would lack a transcendent religious dimension, and not be able to enter into dialogue with the great cultures of humanity all of which have this transcendent religious dimension – which is a dimension of man himself. So to think that there exists a pure, anti-historical reason, solely self-existent, which is “reason” itself, is a mistake; we are finding more and more that it affects only part of man, it expresses a certain historical situation but it is not reason as such. Reason as such is open to transcendence and only in the encounter between transcendent reality and faith and reason does man find himself. So I think that the precise task and mission of Europe in this situation is to create this dialogue, to integrate faith and modern rationality in a single anthropological vision which approaches the human being as a whole and thus also makes human cultures communicable.

Kull vizzjoni, ghazla jew azzjon fir-rigward taz-zwieg u l-familja, titlaq minn hsieb jew konvinzjoni. Billi l-hsieb jissawwar f’kuntest kulturali partikulari, nifhem li tkun ghaqal ghal min irid ihares iz-zwieg u l-familja, li kif sehh fl-imghoddi anke llum, inkomlu ninvestu aktar “fl-emergenza edukattiva”.

Judge Paul Coleridge’s speech – click here to download.