Truly sincere and well meaning citizens cannot fail but be alarmed at the rising numbers of family breakdowns in society since it is well known that the destruction of home life is a clear sign of community decay. Even those who are not very interested in religion would do well to be aware of the broader social evils caused by broken marriages.

Discussion about divorce is becoming more frequent in Malta today; but it is pointless to talk about the topic unless one has a clear idea about marriage and its different forms.

The classical definition of marriage as given by a Roman jurist is as follows: "the union of a man and a woman, a partnership of the entire life, a communication pertaining to divine and human law". Marriage begins with a free act - matrimonial consent - and then becomes a status.

According to Church law, consent is valid when the contracting parties are aware that marriage is a permanent partnership between a man and a woman, which is ordered for their own good and for the procreation and education of offspring. This means that upon entering into this commitment, husband and wife must intend that their union should last until death. Free love, trial marriage or cohabitation for a limited time are not compatible with the genuine concept of marriage. And a temporary sexual union is not capable of being a family in the true sense of the word.

Marriage may be valid, invalid, or even "putative". A putative marriage is one that is invalid but was celebrated in good faith by at least one of the partners - and it remains in this state until its nullity is discovered by both parties.

In order to have a valid marriage, the parties must comply with the requisites laid down by the law. And where there is a doubt, the Church believes the marriage is valid until proven otherwise.

The invalidity of a marriage stems from the presence of a nullifying factor which exists at time of its celebration. The three main causes of nullity are defects of consent, undispensed impediments or an absence of any of the requisites for the contract.

One cannot exclude the possibility that some couples are unified in the eyes of the law and that one or both partners are ignoring the invalidity of their marriage. Those living in a putative marriage have the same rights and duties as those who have contracted validly for as long as one of them, at least, is still unaware that the marriage is null. The Church considers children in such a marriage as legitimate. And once the invalidity of their bond is known by both parties, any one of them may plead for convalidation or declaration of nullity.

Furthermore, it is important not to confuse divorce with other processes which may have some similarity such as the declaration of nullity (sometimes improperly called annulment) and separation. Divorce and annulment are quite distinct: the former is the termination of a valid and existing marriage whereas the latter is a declaration that there never was a real marriage, though there may have been an appearance of it. Divorce is meant to break and destroy the conjugal bond which had truly existed before.

A declaration of nullity may be obtained not only in the Ecclesiastical Tribunal but also in the Civil Court, although the grounds for annulment in the civil law and Church law are slightly different. For Catholics, however, only a declaration of nullity granted by Ecclesiastical tribunals binds in conscience.

Through separation, both at law and in the eyes of the Church, conjugal living is severed while the bond endures and so separated spouses are not allowed to remarry. The decree of separation, usually granted by a Civil Court, frees each spouse in all legal respects, except that they cannot remarry and it usually involves separate maintenance provisions for children.

On the other hand, both annulment and divorce aim to make it possible to have a second marriage but of course the Church only permits this in the event of annulment granted by an Ecclesiastical Tribunal.

There has been no change or softening in the Church's position on the indissolubility of marriage and in its emphasis on the obligations of spouses. The granting of a divorce by a Civil Court, or any other agency, cannot dissolve the marriage bond, even if that marriage had not been celebrated with a religious rite.

According to the Church, every valid marriage between two baptised people is a sacrament. And, as in the case of all the sacraments, the Church has enacted certain laws to govern it. The body of laws actually in force regarding marriage are enshrined in Book Four of the Code of Canon Law and are the end result of the Church's vast experience in this field.

While interpreting the will of Christ, the Church holds that under no circumstances can a marriage between two baptised people be broken once it has been consummated. Only death can end such a marriage. However, the point should be made that the Church, while strongly defending the indissolubility of marriage and excluding the lawfulness of civil divorce, acknowledges that in certain cases the celebration of marriage may have been invalid and offers remedies for such a situation.

Having said that, civil divorce can never be approved by a Catholic conscience which is an accordance with the Gospel and teaching of the Church. Consequently, the only question that may be debated as far as Catholics are concerned is not whether divorce is morally licit but whether society would be better or worse once legislation that permits it is introduced.

Mgr Cauchi is Bishop of Gozo.

Tomorrow: Arguments for and against divorce and points of consensus.