Engaged couples' housing requirements

Marisa Micallef's comments (February 5) on the Church's stand regarding engaged couples' housing requirements call for certain clarifications.

Ms Micallef writes that she is far more worried by the families with children who are living in overcrowded conditions because they have even less financial choice than the average young engaged couple. The Church, of course, fully agrees that the situation of such families should be a priority and appreciates all efforts in this direction. However, this does not mean that the problems engaged couples are increasingly facing in their efforts to acquire their own home are not important and pressing too. The two issues could and should be dealt with together in an adequate framework.

"Being housed decently is a right," Ms Micallef writes. This is precisely what the Church has always talked about. What the Church is asking for are measures to ensure that engaged couples will be able to find a place where to establish their own home without having to burden themselves with too heavy debts. One should look for and encourage all possible effective solutions. It is totally incorrect to imply that the Church "always talks as if it is the inalienable right of everyone to own one's home" or to assert that the Church is "fanning a dependency culture".

Ms Micallef states that engaged couples have high expectations. She accuses the Church of "fanning this rather than preaching about going for what you can afford". The opposite is the case. Archbishop Mgr Joseph Mercieca has repeatedly encouraged couples to have balanced expectations and avoid burdening themselves with unnecessary spending especially if this leads to heavy debts.

This issue was also dealt with in the Diocesan Synod document on Marriage And Family. The document explains that one of the serious consequences of the current affluent society is that engaged couples are having very high expectations. "This also applies to material expectations like, above all, the type and size of the house, furniture, car and the wedding celebration itself.

Engaged couples are getting caught in this tangle and ending up suffering from stress, tension and insufficient time for each other during their engagement. As a result, their relationship does not remain a priority, not even during their preparation for marriage."