Fr Robert Soler, SJ (The Sunday Times, November 21) goes to great lengths to argue that there are more perspectives than just the anti-divorce theological view and the pro-divorce pluralistic view. In this third view, he claims that divorce does not just affect those concerned but society in general, concluding that the introduction of divorce would be harmful to the Maltese.
In spite of choosing an assortment of rationales such as 'communication', 'true humaneness', 'divorce not being a right', and that 'Maltese are distinct' (from the rest of the world), he has, on the whole, missed the wood for the trees. Allow me to explain.
What Fr Soler failed to address is the current state of our society which has no 'legal' divorce. The facts speak for themselves. Our government and a 'holier than thou' following boast that we are the last country in the Western world that does not have a divorce law. However, these people are certainly oblivious of the fact that separations are the order of the day and not a week goes by that one does not hear of the umpteenth marriage breaking down.
These people also ignore the fact that we have a large 'pogguti' club, children are being born outside wedlock and not brought up in a proper family structure because of government prohibition. These are not just flashy statements; in 2003 alone there were over 800 such births. In this scenario one would be well justified in stating that in theory we do not have divorce, in practice we have had divorce for many years.
Given that people in greater numbers are separating, that civil marriages rose substantially over the last 10 years and that more and more couples do not give a hoot about what the Church preaches, do we still need to legalise divorce today? The answer is an unequivocal 'yes'. Yes before it is too late and our society degenerates beyond rescue. Let us learn from fellow Catholic countries such as Ireland where they allowed this degeneration to go too far before agreeing that the only solution left was divorce legislation.
Our society accepts separations probably because today everyone has a parent, sibling, cousin or friend who is separated or cohabiting. Other factors are that the separation stigma has disappeared and the influence of the Church is fading as time passes. Without divorce, this fast growing part of society is learning to adapt to simply live together.
By the time this country has MPs who will have enough sense and courage to legalise divorce, separated couples may not even bother to file and obtain it and/or remarry. We will end up in a society of concubinage where more and more young couples will simply cohabit rather than marry. This is not a doomsday prophecy but a reality that is clear for all those who want to see it.
I also have to subscribe to a school of thought aired by Mr Joseph Galea (The Sunday Times, October 31). Mr Galea quite rightly claimed that the only difference between separation and divorce is that they are both essentially the same. The only difference is actually that divorce gives separated couples the right to remarry civilly. Therefore the impact that divorce will supposedly cause these islands is already being experienced with separation.
The argument that remarriage cannot be permitted since if one broke his/her lifelong fidelity in the first marriage, it cannot be upheld in the second marriage is sheer nonsense, especially for the injured party. When a marriage has dissolved the party that wanted to leave the marriage goes and does his/her own thing, possibly forming a new family.
Here in 'pious' Malta, the party who was true to his/her vows is, as Colonel Ray Bencini (The Sunday Times, November 21) correctly puts it, "expected to grin and bear it" and "spend the rest of his/her life living in celibacy" without the chance of having the family they always strove for. Our society owes these people a second chance and not empty words of support, solidarity and friendship.
Today I believe, more than ever, that our government, which tries to portray itself as courageous on fiscal matters, needs to find the courage to put forward divorce legislation thereby addressing the issues I have mentioned. If not, history will judge them guilty of leaving a legacy of social disorder for future governments. This is a social disorder that can be avoided if addressed at the right time. That time is now and the clock is ticking away.