The welfare system seems to be supporting the practice of having children out of wedlock and cohabitation, clinical psychologist Fr Paul Galea has said.

He is suggesting that, for the benefit of the children, the government should make marriage more appealing while not closing an eye to those who are opting out.

One in every 10 babies is born to an "unknown" father, although it is debatable how truly unknown the father is, Fr Galea says.

A paper he has just presented at a national conference on marriage showed that 34 per cent of children were born out of wedlock in 2007. About 24 per cent were born to unmarried couples, where the father was known, while in 10 per cent of the cases he was unknown. Most were born to people who still had the option of marrying.

For the good of the children born outside marriage, Fr Galea says married couples should be privileged through family-friendly legislation, taxation and social welfare.

At the moment, the government seems to be doing the opposite, he argues.

"Why should those couples who do everything by the book be less favoured than others when it comes to, for example, seeking housing?"

Privileges should be for persons with disability and for children, who may also be victims of their parents' irresponsibility, he remarks.

Studies need to be carried out on how to entice de facto marriages, which involve reconstituted families between separated couples, into the institutionalisation of the relationship, with their respective rights and duties.

To protect their children, they could be encouraged to enter into a civil union, or legal recognition, but should not be on the same footing as married couples.

Fr Galea spilled the statistics on unknown fathers at Saturday's national conference, Marriage - Quo Vadis? Speaking about the phenomenon of the "fatherless" society, he revealed the high percentage of supposedly unknown fathers that resulted from a study of baptismal records.

Fr Galea says he was told by parish priests that the "unknown" father would actually turn up at the baptism in the role of godfather, and points to the social benefits the parents enjoy as the main reason for not declaring paternity. It resulted they were better off than other mothers, he adds.

The real problem is the "privatisation" of the relationship, according to Fr Galea. It means that being a couple and having a baby has become a private affair, with the collusion of the parents, who even set up a double bed for their daughter and the "unknown father" in their home, where he reaps the advantages, without any obligations.

However, Fr Galea does not put the blame squarely on the man. "It takes two to tango and if the girl wants to get pregnant she knows how. Despite the availability of contraceptives, they do not use them, or they fail."

Fr Galea says it is endemic of Maltese society that everyone operates outside legality, not just with regard to commerce and taxes.

People do not understand what the state and the Church have to do with their relationship, he notes. The Church merely has an educational role but if someone refuses to pay taxes the state can interfere. It should be the same if someone is bringing children into the world without shouldering the responsibility, Fr Galea argues.

The stigma of having an unknown father is being buried by the parents and has started to be accepted but studies have proven such children are underprivileged and fall behind with regard to health and intelligence, compared to those from stable families.

"Many have a low standard of living, depending on the grandparents. While the natural, unregistered fathers could still be contributing, they have no strings attached, meaning they cannot be held liable and resulting in more insecurity."

Fr Galea says the politicians are aware of the situation and want to tackle it but do not know how.

Social Policy Minister John Dalli says the matter is being studied and that no one should abuse of social welfare. He is looking into verifying the figures of children born out of wedlock.

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