Yes marriage, they're British

"A large majority among cohabiting couples and those in first or second marriages believe people should commit themselves to staying together for life."

No, this is not the Bishop of Catholic Malta talking, but The Times (of London), certainly not a papist paper by any measure! It published the results of an opinion poll on the state of marriage in Britain, which, to my mind, makes very interesting reading in the context of the current debate on marriage and divorce.

"The poll suggests that, despite the decline in the numbers marrying, it remains the 'gold standard' of relationships."

Not only.

The Sunday Times (of London) also dedicated part of its editorial on the issue. It stated: "Marriage has been battered by changes in social attitudes and by government neglect. Not only are there no longer rewards in the tax system for marriage but, particularly at the bottom of the income scale, there are real gains from not being married".

Referring to the YouGov poll, the editorial noted that "married people tend to be happier than those who are divorced or cohabiting. And by more than two to one, married people think divorce should be made more difficult".

This is being reported so that, perhaps, we stop hearing that this is an issue of a Catholic imposition or that Catholics should stop trying to influence the social debate or even that Catholics need not worry since, in the end, they may opt not to divorce if ever it be introduced in Malta.

These attitudes are absolutely irrelevant to the issue because marriage is beneficial and good to all of society.

The YouGov poll is expressing the opinion of protestant Britain in a heavy multi-cultural, political correct, environment. This debate therefore is a social issue that affects all families, Catholic or not. If divorce is harmful socially, it is so to all, Catholics or not.

The other conclusion to be drawn is that every lay society has to ensure it takes all those social measures to privilege marriage in regard to any other arrangement outside marriage.

The editorial notes that, tax wise, "The single mother with a boyfriend who occasionally stays the night is better off than her married counterpart".

Of course, the "single mother", the couple cohabiting or any other partner situation that is not considered a marriage all deserve to have their needs properly addressed by the state to ensure that there is no suffering or injustice in their regard. But the point is that this should not be done at the expense of or as a disincentive to the legally-married family.

The accent therefore has to be pro-marriage.

In this regard, one welcomes the contribution by Charles Mangion , a leading spokesman of the Malta Labour Party, in fact the deputy leader for parliamentary affairs, who has indicated concrete social policy measures considered by the MLP as necessary for "A renaissance for the Maltese family".

The "results" of the UK poll also suggest that the fall in marriage and rise in divorce prompted by the arrival of "no fault" divorce in 1969 and subsequent liberalisation have made those couples who still opt to wed more determined than ever to make their relationship work.

The Times (of London) attempts to explain what it describes as a welcome shift in public opinion on marriage in Britain to "the children of divorced parents" being "determined not to subject their own children to the unhappiness that goes with divorce".

Britain, of course, is not considering removing its divorce laws but are we retrograde, immature, Catholic fundamentalists if we, as a society, require to be more than convinced to opt for divorce now that the serious side effects of divorce are coming out in other societies? Or should we not perhaps leave well alone as far as the current legal regime of family law and the divorce issue is concerned?

Above all, are we prepared in the name of some pretended right of choice, to have our children pay the social bill deriving from divorce in 40 years' time, when it might be too late to change direction? Will our children thank us for having done so?

I, for one, am not prepared to assume this responsibility or to take the risk.