Charles J. Buttigieg, Mellieħa
Parliament should decide divorce issue (1)
Laurence Gonzi and some of his parliamentarians, as well as a number of PL MPs, are procrastinating or even avoiding the divorce issue for fear of losing votes and/or to impose their moral values on their constituents. The issue shouldn't be about religion and politics - it's about what two parties contract to and their legal right to rescind from. The government and the majority have no legal or moral right to dictate to the minority what they consider as righteous to them and evil to the others. We elect our MPs to take care of our temporal needs; priests and prelates are quite capable of guiding us in the spiritual matters.
It is a misnomer to describe divorce as "the terminator of a marriage". A marriage terminates due to many different reasons and divorce is only the instrument to regulate the financial and material aspect of the broken marriage and allowing the split partners to get on with their lives and marry different persons if that is what they want. One may not agree, fine, I have no difficulty to accept that, but I'm lost for words when I see "the happily married lot" imposing on the "unhappily married others". It's not right and Lawrence Gonzi ought to get on with it as some people are getting confused, hurt and are also suffering.
Having said that, in all argumentation, one has to keep in mind the moral, social and psychological well-being of the children who are never to blame for the whims, feelings or faults of their parents! As a society which plans and legislates for the "good of all" we need to be responsible enough to take this factor into consideration within the whole context; but this doesn't amount to an absolute no to divorce.
The Labour MPs, the Labour top brass as well as the Labour supporters are not exactly united on the divorce issue either but, unlike Dr Gonzi, Joseph Muscat's style is not one of imposition, and this is one reason why the issue is going to be an uphill climb.
The second reason is an obvious one - the divorce issue had been dragging since the time of the Integration campaign. It is an extremely hot and dangerous issue and had Dr Muscat imposed it on his "to do list" he would be risking an internal split and a haemorrhage of Labour voters' abstentions.
And he is not that naïve to offer the PN another electoral victory on a silver platter. Does this make him an opportunist? No, definitely not, it makes him a realist because if Labour doesn't win the next election we would still be without divorce legislation. Priority number one is for the PL to be in government, the only way to stop the present corrupt practices and political injustices.
What then is the right solution which would not politically advantage or disadvantage any of the political parties? A free vote in Parliament to both sides of the house would be the natural answer.
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Joe Zammit
Jul 15th 2010, 21:22
The number of voters is always on the increase. This is a clear message from the Maltese and Gozitans. It is an opinion poll conducted by this newspaper. The percentage has remained the same:
Should a decision on divorce be taken by Parliament or by the people at a referendum?
A referendum 77.9%
Parliament 22.1%
Total votes: 4778
In any case DIVORCE NEVER!
v mercieca
Jul 14th 2010, 17:01
Let me take a different view point on the divorce issue.
We have quite a substantial minority of separated people, because they cannot get a divorce. Most of these people have formed a new family by co-habit with a new partner. Most of these have children from this new relation.
What is the position of these children? Should we call them names because they are the fruit outside wedlock?
What about children born from a marriage that was annulled. What can I say to a child, that he is a joke as he was born from a marriage that never existed?
I believe that we should not mix civil rights and religion together.
Joe Zammit
Jul 15th 2010, 21:28
Mr Mercieca, divorce is no right at all. Divorce is evil right from the start. Christ words are clear enough: no divorce because in marriage it is only God who is uniting two together. The State has no say in the contact of marriage. So DIVORCE NEVER!
Joe Zammit
Jul 14th 2010, 16:47
Charles, you had better chew on the 78% who want a referendum so that the majority of Maltese and Gozitans show if they want divorce or not. These are facts not fantasies like yours! How mistaken you are if you think that divorce is a civil right! Far from it. Divorce is just evil that harms the whole of society.
James A. Tyrrell
Jul 14th 2010, 15:30
@George Scicluna. 'The unity of the family.' What family unity would that be George? The unity that forces two people who have grown apart to the point where they hate the sight of each other to stay together? The unity that forces a woman in a physically abusive marriage to continue being used as a punch bag by her scum husband? And don't bring the preaching of the church into it, as they have no idea what marriage is about. Perhaps if they let their priests marry they would gain some experience in that regard, not to mention saving a lot of children from abuse.
Joe Zammit
Jul 14th 2010, 13:40
Par. 2385 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
"Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society. This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a PLAGUE ON SOCIETY."
Which MP is going to vote in favour of this plague on society?
DIVORCE NEVER!
victor pulis
Jul 15th 2010, 12:47
Doesn't annulment have the same effect on children Mr. Zammit? What deserted spouse? Divorce frees both spouses to re marry if they so wished. I expect an answer re annulments' effect on children.
William P Flynn
Jul 14th 2010, 13:33
I personally think a referendum on divorce will pass anyway.
jane camilleri haber
Jul 14th 2010, 13:17
can not those who need to get out of their present unhappy state do so without making the whole nation pay for their failure? Is it right to eradicate from all the future couples the idea that marriage is forever? simply because your marriage has failed? why not instead of divorce , do we not legislate in favour of rights for co habitabts who choose to co habit? leave marriage alone
Joseph Micallef
Jul 15th 2010, 10:15
Introducing divorces will not break up marriages. It will only make it possible for those with already broken up marriages to re-marry (civil marriage). So such arguments don't hold! Marriages are already breaking up without divorce!
victor pulis
Jul 15th 2010, 13:56
And what's the difference between divorce and what you are proposing?
George Scicluna
Jul 14th 2010, 12:46
Divorce is anti-Christian, and Immoral. These things could be expected by the lejbir. No to divorce, and other dreadful liberal ideas, and YES to the unity of the family, always preached by the Church, and our Nationalist Party.
Charles J. Buttigieg
Jul 14th 2010, 13:28
So is cohabitation yet your precious PN would soon start the legal process to recognize and protect those couples who are living in sin.
Christopher Xuereb
Jul 14th 2010, 15:48
Mr Scicluna, divorce is not 'anti' anything. It is the dissolution of the civil matrimonial contract and, as such, it does not impinge upon the religious one, the obligations of which still bind the spouses. I can't fathom how the dissolution of a civil marriage that has failed can be immoral but you are, of course, entitled to your opinion irrespective of how misguided that opinion might be.
Franco Farrugia
Jul 14th 2010, 17:54
What a load of crap!
Charles J. Buttigieg
Jul 14th 2010, 11:57
Am I morally convinced that Divorce is the right instrument to refer too when a marriage fails? No I am not yet I am 100% convinced that the sad minority who are living the miserable experience should be given their right to choose and the happy majority have no right to deny them a free choice. Not the government, not any religion, not one.
How would any sinner feel, and we are all sinners, if the government legislates to make all sins illegal and punishable?Imagine being taken to court because you ate meat instead of fish on Good Friday!
Joe Zammit
Jul 14th 2010, 13:09
Charles, divorce is no right at all! Divorce is evil and no evil can ever be a right. Marriage is for ever! DIVORCE NEVER!
l.theuma
Jul 14th 2010, 11:51
Dear Joe Zammit, the ball was rolling in your feet. You did'nt manage it well. So it was seized to you. The anwser to divorce is annullments. But the ecclesiastical tribunal should first substitute the defender of the bond by the defender of the suffering party. Then beside the canonists and lawers should sit gerat teologians, psychologists and even sometimes psychiatrists.
Charles J. Buttigieg
Jul 14th 2010, 11:37
@ Joe Zammit
Thanks for your comment as you had just proved my point. I have very little doubt that your 78.6% would vote ‘no’ for divorce while a sizeable amount of the 21.4% might be people in pain and are suffering.
Judging by your frequent contributions on timesofmalta.com it is clear that you are a fundamentalist and insist that your beliefs must be imposed on others without any regard to their beliefs and temporal requirements. You are wrong and, ironically, your stance goes against the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Divorce is a civil right and you do not vote on civil rights. They are beyond debate and beyond dispute.
You as well as those who think otherwise should understand how stupid you sound to the rest of the world when you try to explain the situation in Malta, or to justify your position.
Everybody has a God’s given right to propagate one’s spiritual and temporal beliefs and the other denominations are not excluded from these rights but you keep insisting that you are right because you belong to the anti divorce majority. That attitude is more un-Christian than being pro divorce.
Now_chew_on_that_Joe.
Chris Reiff
Jul 14th 2010, 12:54
He probably ignores all comments that go against him, as he doesn't listen to 'devil-worshippers' and 'sinful' people. That's why he will never open his brains and learn something constructive.
Dawn Cummings
Jul 14th 2010, 13:13
@Charles
Couldn't have said it better
@Chris
Yes, Joe Zammit never comments on what proves him wrong. He didn't even bother to comment on the abortion article a few weeks ago. I wonder why he calls himself a roman catholic because of this...
Joe Zammit
Jul 14th 2010, 10:15
Chew on the opinion poll being carried out by this newspaper:
Should a decision on divorce by taken by Parliament or by the people at a referendum?
A referendum 78.6%
Parliament 21.4%
Total votes: 4072
In any case:
DIVORCE NEVER!
M Vella
Jul 14th 2010, 11:44
92.0 million people = Philippines
00.4 million people = Malta
92.4 million people = No Divorce Law
6.9 billion = world population
98.7% of the world lives in sin
01.3% of the world has priority tickets to heaven.
DIVORCE SOON,SOONER THEN WE THINK
Joseph Calleja
Jul 14th 2010, 14:56
I sincerely believe that the reason people opt for a referendum in lieu of the parliament is
very simple. The people do not trust the government and that's a fact. Maybe the next poll should be. Do you agree with divorce or not? Let the people decide. Politicians have to watch what they say or do, because of votes and nothing else. You mention Malta and the Philippines, two countries run and dictated too by the Catholic Church, what about the rest of the world? Step out of that box you live in and welcome to the 21st century, give a bit more credit to the Maltese people. Today we are better educated and better informed on the outside world. The days of religious incarceration are gone.
Wenzu Vella
Jul 14th 2010, 15:28
Joe
I hope you don’t get disappointed that when your time comes you find, that there is no HEAVEN OR HELL but just being like everyone else DEAD FOR EVER.
Joseph Calleja
Jul 14th 2010, 19:40
I sincerely believe that the reason that people opt for a referendum in lieu of the parliament is very simple. The people do not trust the government and that's a fact. Maybe the next poll should be. Do you agree with divorce or not? Let the people decide. Politicians have to watch what they say or do because of votes and nothing else. You mention Malta and the Philippines, two countries run and dictated too by the Catholic Church, what about the rest of the world? Step out of that box you live in and welcome to the 21st century, give a bit more credit to the Maltese people. Today we are better educated and better informed about the outside world. The days of religious incarceration are gone