Matthew Grech, above, was swept up into a legal battle in Malta for three years after giving his testimony about how he left a homosexual lifestyle after becoming a Christian. | Christian Concern
Posted on 03/04/2026 7:25:21 PM PST by SeekAndFind
A man in Malta who faced more than three years of legal battles after giving his testimony about leaving homosexuality was found not guilty of "advertising conversion practices" by a Maltese court on Wednesday.
"I'm very thankful," Matthew Grech said in a brief Facebook video he posted outside the court after the ruling.
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. He appeared in court 17 times over charges that carried €5,000 (over $5,700) in fines or up to five months in prison.
His charges emerged in response to an April 2022 interview with PMnews Malta, an independent outlet that invited him to discuss his views on conversion therapy bans that have proliferated throughout the Western world in recent years.
Grech discussed the uncertainty he felt regarding his sexuality and masculinity in his early years, which led him to participate in same-sex relationships before becoming a Christian and repenting of such behavior.
After the interview, both Grech and the two journalists at PMnews Malta who conducted the interview were prosecuted under the law against advertising conversion therapy.
PMnews Malta later discovered that the police complaint against Grech was filed by Silvan Agius, an LGBT activist from Malta who helped draft the legislation.
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.
In his Facebook video after the ruling, Grech expressed gratitude and hopes the precedent will protect others like him throughout Europe. But he warned that the Maltese law under which he was charged remains in place.
"It is a big day, and I'm very thankful that the court, the Maltese court, decided for freedom of speech," he said. "The Maltese court decided for freedom of religion, and has announced that I had every right to share my Christian views around sexuality and gender, and to mention organizations that are helping Christians to live consistently with their belief system."
Calling on the European Commission to make sure that bans on conversion therapy "will have no place in Europe," Grech alleged that activists aim to use such legislation to persecute anyone who does not support LGBT ideology.
"It doesn't matter what these laws say. All that matters is that activists will use these laws to target any dissenting view around sexuality and gender," he said.
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 was one of the first Roman colonies to convert to Christianity, but which his legal counsel warned at the time could become the first of many dominoes in Europe to fall by prosecuting Christians for sharing their testimonies.
Grech likened his situation and that of other Christians who endeavor to obey God while struggling with their sexuality to Paul's encounter with a venomous snake, which took place on Malta after the apostle was shipwrecked.
According to the story in Acts 28:1-10, the viper emerged from a fire and latched itself onto Paul's arm, prompting those around him to believe the apostle had been cursed by God; when the venom had no effect, they came to discern the opposite.
"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," Grech said at the time.
"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," he 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.'"
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Jim
The gay mafia. Once you’re in, there’s no getting out.
Democrats laws
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Hotel California....
Karl, Great Post. Thank you. Quite disgusting indeed. Those involved in this ‘promotion’ will one day, pay a TERRIBLE PRICE.
ETCM : Great bio - and all true, AMEN.
Enjoyed the President Reagan quotes: thank you.
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