A Christian man in Malta who is facing potential fines and prison time for giving his testimony in 2022 about leaving the LGBT lifestyle is slated to receive a ruling Thursday in his case, which has dragged on for three years.
Matthew Grech, 36, was slapped with criminal charges in 2022 for allegedly discussing and promoting so-called conversion practices in violation of Article 3 of Malta’s Affirmation of Sexual Orientation, Gender and Gender Expression Act. The charges carry €5,000 (over $5,700) in fines or up to five months in prison.
Passed in 2016, the law was the first of its kind in Europe and made it “unlawful for any person” to “advertise conversion practices.” Similar legislation has since swept other Western nations, such as Canada, where counseling that does not affirm homosexuality or transgenderism carries a potential five-year jail sentence.
During his interview in April 2022 with PMnews Malta, an independent outlet that invited him to discuss his views on conversion therapy bans, Grech discussed the uncertainty he felt regarding his sexuality in his early years, which led him to participate in homosexual relationships before becoming a Christian and repenting of such behavior.
At no point during the interview did Grech invite anyone to attend therapy to change their sexual orientation or gender identity, though he was critical of the Maltese law. He said after coming to faith, he came to believe that homosexuality is not an identity, but rather a sinful practice that he could no longer continue as a Christian.
“Just like every other sin, one can repent from it and ask God for forgiveness and ask Him for strength to overcome,” said Grech, who is a trustee with the U.K.-based Core Issues Trust, a group that supports “men and women with homosexual issues who voluntarily seek change in sexual preference and expression,” according to its website.
After the interview aired, both Grech and the two journalists at PMnews Malta who conducted the interview were prosecuted under the law against advertising conversion therapy.
In 2023, PMnews Malta ultimately discovered that the police complaint made against Grech was from Silvan Agius, an LGBT activist from Malta who played a role in crafting the legislation and has served as a cabinet expert for EU Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli since 2019.
Christian Attard, a founding member of the Malta LGTBIQ Rights Movement, who has served on the European Commission on Sexual Orientation Law, and Cynthia Chircop, who co-chairs the organization, were also reportedly involved in the complaint.
After attending 12 court hearings, Grech is scheduled to finally receive a ruling Thursday morning in his case, which his legal counsel at the London-based nonprofit Christian Legal Centre (CLC) warns could set a precedent for other Western countries that have conversion therapy bans.
“The real threat here is not just to Matthew, but to freedom of speech itself,” said CLC Executive Director Andrea Williams. “Even the broadcasters, who were sympathetic to LGBT perspectives and openly challenged Matthew in the discussion, have been prosecuted. That is absurd.”
“For Matthew’s sake, for Malta’s sake, and for the sake of free speech worldwide, I hope the court will acquit him now that the evidence has been fully heard,” she added. “As this case nears its conclusion, advocates for free speech and Christian freedom across Europe are watching closely. The judgment will have implications far beyond Malta’s borders.”
During a 2023 interview with Fox News about his story, Grech noted the irony that the first case of his kind should be in Malta, an overwhelmingly majority-Catholic country that features prominently in the history of Christianity as the place where the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked and miraculously left unharmed by a venomous snake bite.
Grech likened his situation and that of other Christians who endeavor to obey God while struggling with their sexuality to Paul’s encounter with the snake, which is recounted in Acts 28:1-10.
“That story speaks to us to this day, because when Paul arrived in Malta, a fire was set because it was cold, and a snake fastened itself against his arm,” Grech told the outlet. “He shook it off, told it where it needs to go, and it went back to the fire.”
“People at first thought he was being judged by the gods because that snake fastened itself around his arm, but when they saw that nothing happened to him, they changed their minds,” he said.
Similarly, Grech believes God is able to sustain those who resist the prevailing culture’s promotion of what he described as idolatry, even if it is enforced with government power.
“I believe that as we survive this snake that is trying to poison us and harm us, as we look toward God, who is able to save us and redeem us, people will shift their perspective,” he said.
“We believe in the best for our nation, but there has been an idol that has been set up, and it needs to come down,” Grech added. “We are facing the idol of our generation, and we’re saying, ‘We’re not going to bow down to you, no matter what the cost.'”
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
