Laws of God and laws of the state : the decriminalisation of adultery and homosexual acts as sex offences in Malta

Abstract

For Malta, the twentieth century signified several changes in the political sphere of the country. One of the key developments was its acquisition of independence whereby the once crown colony of the British Empire for over hundred and sixty years, Malta changed its status and started a new political and economic chapter. On the socio-cultural level too, Malta was at a point of gradual transition. The long-time strong Catholic Church, with a major following from a devout population saw its overarching power which it preserved throughout the British period, dwindling. This was in great part because of its involvement in several politico-religious conflicts, but also because of a process of modernisation and secularisation which became more apparent in the last quarter of the twentieth century. With the British, as the former Church allies, out of the picture, and specifically, with Dominic Mintoff’s Malta Labour Party back in government in 1971, (indeed, Mintoff’s first time as a Prime Minister in a non-colony Malta), a number of changes which the MLP had long argued in favour would be implemented. Demarcating more clearly between the spheres of Church/morality and State/legality was one such objective. The removal of the crimes of adultery and unnatural carnal connection (sometimes referred to as ‘casual carnal knowledge’ too) from Chapter 12 of the Criminal Code in 1973 was one link in this long chain of events. In Malta, anyone committing adultery, or persons of the same sex engaging in a sexual relationship were considered as acting illegally. Hence, if reported and brought to court, their actions would be processed as potential crimes. In 1972, Dr. Anton Buttigieg, Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, proposed a Bill to decriminalise these acts. This study seeks to contextualise and analyse the debate which developed in the wake of this Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill. This dissertation is divided into four chapters, each dealing with a different aspect about adultery and unnatural carnal connection. The first chapter sets the context by supplying the general historical background and more specifically, aspects of the legal history of the law before the amendments were proposed and effected. Chapter 2 goes further to present the reader with a glimpse into the past by providing some real-life cases of both these acts when these were still deemed criminal, as retrieved from the Police Occurrences at the National Archives of Malta. Against this backdrop, the third chapter focuses on the key objective of the dissertation, namely to explore and assess the political debate surrounding the Bill, and as it unfolded in the Parliamentary sittings between 1972 and 1973. From these sittings, pertinent points of discussion a rose which throw light on the political party positions on the matter. Lastly, chapter 4 deals with the reaction of the Church, and of sections of Maltese society, to this Bill. Adultery and unnatural carnal connection (referred to interchangeably by several sources as ‘homosexuality’) went against the teachings of the Church, thus, the Church opposed and preached against the Bill. The Pastoral Letter that the Bishops issued amid these debates, will be the highlights of this chapter, along with some articles from the Church’s newspaper Leħen is-Sewwa.