Kurt Sansone
‘Mistake to link yes vote to sin’
Archbishop ‘would not mention sin’
It was a mistake for the Church’s pro-vicar to talk about sin in relation to how a person would vote on divorce because it is illegal for anyone to threaten spiritual harm, according to former Labour Justice Minister Joe Brincat.
“After the political religious battle of the 1960s, the Church’s influence on how people vote was one of the six points agreed between the Labour Party and the Church to avoid a repeat,” he said.
“It is a corrupt practice for anyone to threaten spiritual harm to induce a person to vote one way or another in an election or referendum,” Dr Brincat said, insisting that not even the Gozo Bishop and the Archbishop spoke like that.
The Electoral Polling Ordinance makes it clear in article 55 that every person who makes use of, or threatens to inflict “any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss” will be guilty of undue influence in an election. Undue influence is considered to be a corrupt practice and the ordinance also applies to the Referendum Act.
In an interview on church radio RTK, Mgr Anton Gouder said it would be a sin for a convinced Catholic to vote in favour of divorce and defended the Church’s right to pass moral judgment on the actions of its members.
His statement provoked a flurry of comments on timesofmalta.com with many taking umbrage at what they perceived as Mgr Gouder’s intrusion in matters of the state.
The proponent of the Private Member’s Bill on divorce, Nationalist backbencher Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, was careful not to get involved in a war of words with the Archbishop’s right-hand man.
“Mgr Gouder has every right to transmit his feelings in any way he deems fit and so does the Church. But the issue he raised is one that has to be debated among theologians. One has to keep in mind that other representatives of the Church have spoken in a different tone,” Dr Pullicino Orlando said.
As a politician, he added, it was not up to him to debate the moral issue raised by Mgr Gouder. “I have political reasons for being in favour of divorce and he may have theological reasons for being against. However, at the end of the day, it is not a decision that will be taken on theological lines,” Dr Pullicino Orlando said.
In an interview with The Sunday Times in June, Archbishop Paul Cremona was asked whether a Catholic Member of Parliament would be committing a sin if he voted in favour.
“I would put it in a different way. If he is a committed Christian and Catholic, I think his main preoccupation would be to promote those things he believes in. I would not mention sin,” the Archbishop had said, insisting it was only logical for somebody who really believes in what the Church says to propose it also to society at large.
One of the reasons in favour of divorce put forward by Dr Brincat was the present state of family relationships and the increase in cohabitation.
“The introduction of divorce will unmask those men who today use the absence of divorce as an excuse not to take on the full responsibilities towards the partner in a second relationship,” he said, insisting that, in some cases, cohabitation was also a route to milk the social system.
Dr Brincat disputed Mgr Gouder’s criticism that a spouse who did not want divorce would still be lumped with it if her partner decided to divorce.
“This is also the case today with separation and annulment. It happens all the time and I have witnessed cases of couples where one part did not want to separate but had to unwillingly accept,” Dr Brincat pointed out.
However, he did agree with Mgr Gouder that a second marriage would not necessarily be better than the first. “Relationships are complicated and divorce is not a miracle cure. It does not offer any guarantee that the second marriage will succeed,” he said talking from years of court experience.
The Graffitti Movement lambasted Mgr Gouder’s comments, insisting that what was really sinful was the fact that Maltese were the only European citizens still denied the right to divorce. “Civil laws are meant to protect citizens and not Catholics or any other religious group. In a secular society laws should not be based on the values of any religious institution but on universal, human values and rights,” spokesman Angele Deguara said.
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Mr K.M Edwards
May 30th 2011, 21:19
The Catholic Church's perennial mission according to its founder Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19 is "Going therefore, teach ye all nations ..."
There can be no question that in Catholic doctrine, divorce and remarriage is a sin.
As such, the Catholic Church had a duty to teach that fact to Catholics voting on the subject.
If in fulfilling its mission the Catholic Church inadvertently inspired non-Catholics to vote more vigorously, rather than calling this a mistake, one would instead simply need to say that the Church's teaching is unpopular. If it is a mistake to fulfill one's mission, it is the mission itself, the teaching authority of the Church that would need to be called into question.
Otherwise, one might dare to say that Jesus Christ made a mistake teaching his doctrines because He got crucified in the end. Or that John the Baptist was mistaken in speaking out against King Herod's adultery because he lost his head in the end. Or that Sir Thomas More and St John Fisher were mistaken in not signing King Henry's act because likewise they too lost their heads.
Mistakes are one thing. Fulfilling a mission, even when it is unpopular, is quite something else.
Mr K.M Edwards
May 30th 2011, 20:32
It was not a mistake for the Church to call voting for divorce a sin for Catholics. It is the raison d'etre of the Catholic Church to teach Catholic doctrine and spreadh it to all peoples.
In Catholic teaching, voting for divorce is necessarily and absolutely a sin for a person with a well-informed conscience, which basically means that any Catholic who knows the Church's teaching on divorce can never vote in favor of it and still remain Catholic. As such, for Catholic clergy to preach Catholic doctrine to Catholics is not a mistake.
If one wishes to make the claim that doing so lost the referendum, one needs to say perforce that the Catholic religion itself was a liability in this campaign.
The Church would thus have failed in her mission if she had kept silent on divorce. Those who feel differently should look to ST Thomas More and St John Fisher, who similarly spoke out against divorce. They lost their heads in the process, and Catholicism was crushed by King Henry VIII in England. Was it a "mistake" for the Church to hold fast to its perennial teachings? Perhaps in a temporal sense, but then one would have to dispute its very existence.
Consider:
1. Session 24 sections 5 and 7 of the Council of Trent - which defined infallibly by Catholic standards states the following:"If anyone should say that the Church errs in having taught or in teaching that ..the bond of marriage cannot be loosed ... let him be anathemae." This anathema - which means you are not Catholic - applies to those who believe the Church is mistaken in her teaching that a valid marriage can be dissolved.
2. The Church has a teaching mission according to its own founders : Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19 "Going therefore, teach ye all nations", and St Paul the Apostle in 1 Timothy 3:14-15 " ... the Church of God the ground and pillar of truth".
3. Christ declares that anyone who divorces and remarries another commits adultery. Luke 16:18
4. Adultery breaks the 6 th commandment of the decalogue.
5. St Paul the Apostle declares in 1 Corinthians 6:9 that no fornicators or adulterers will enter the kingdom of heaven.
Clearly therefore, in Catholic teaching, divorce/re-marriage is a sin, and also it is a sin to think the Church is wrong in condemning any divorce (not just of Church marriages but any valid marriage). A sin so heinous in Catholic teaching that one will not enter heaven with it on one's soul.
You may abhor the Catholic Church for its teaching, but it was open and honest about its position. This is a service to both Catholic and non-Catholic as it permits one to decide honestly whether one favors the Church's position or not.
Had the Church not been open aboutits teachings that voting for divorce was sinful, she would not have been honest. If the referendum was lost on account of this honesty, that was not a mistake, since the teaching mission is more important than her earthly status.
Philip Hili
May 13th 2011, 12:51
Constitution of Malta Act, 1964
CONSTITUTION OF MALTA
The Malta Independence Order, 1964, as amended by Acts: XLI of 1965,
XXXVII of 1966, IX of 1967, XXVI of 1970, XLVII of 1972, LVII, LVIII of
1974, XXXVIII of 1976, X of 1977, XXIX of 1979, IV of 1987, XXIII of
1989; Proclamations Nos. II and VI of 1990; Acts XIX of 1991, IX of 1994;
Proclamations IV of 1995 and III of 1996; Acts: XI of 1996, XVI of 1997,
III of 2000 and XIII of 2001.
21st September, 1964*
CONSTITUTION OF MALTA
ARRANGEMENT OF ARTICLES
CHAPTER I
The Republic of Malta
Article
1. The Republic and its Territories.
2. Religion.
Constitution of Malta Act, 1964
LVIII.1974.4.
2. (1) The religion of Malta is the Roman Catholic Apostolic
Religion.
(2) The authorities of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church
have the duty and the right to teach which principles are right and
which are wrong.
(3) Religious teaching of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Faith
shall be provided in all State schools as part of compulsory
education.
Can any lawyer enlighten the readers about the above quotation especailly to para. 2 please?
Christian Sciberras
May 30th 2011, 09:53
If you look further, you'll find that the constitution actually tells you to donate everything you own and worked for to the Church when you "expire"....
May Cassar
Aug 22nd 2010, 12:45
Thought I for one am against divorce for various reasons besides my religious convictions. I would not put the pressure of sin on anyone. I believe, that a referandum should be held on this matter, then it is up to the maltese to vote after thinking through all the pros and cons. plus if they are practicing catholics they take into concideration their religion. If divorce does win, then it is up to each and everyone who Unfortunately arrives at a marriage breakdown to decide to go for a divorce or not , even if they are practicing catholics and believe the laws of their church. If they do not believe or decide to put their religion aside then we should leave it in their hands. After all, many live their lives, stealing, cheating etc, etc. and still think they are good catholics. When their life is over they leave it in the Hands of the God Lord to meet out his just punishment.
l. theuma
Aug 22nd 2010, 10:51
Is it a mistake to link yes vote to sin? Voting is a human act. Any human act is envisiged in the light of moral law. If such an act is in conformity with God's law it is good, if it is against God's will, is bad. What is bad infront of God is surely a sin. So simple to comprehend.
Paul Barrett
Aug 22nd 2010, 11:39
I think that you have missed the point of the article which basically highlights the fact that it is wrong to attempt to influence the vote of Members of Parliament or Citizens by fear. In this particular case that they will become sinners (outcasts) by voting or supporting legislation for divorce.
Adrian Cortis
Aug 22nd 2010, 10:39
@Joe Zammit and all Christian Fanatics
With all due respect, but if the European Union decides that Divorce should be made available in ALL EU countries, including Malta, it wouldn't matter what our Catholic Church thinks about sins or not. IT WILL JUST BE INTRODUCED AUTOMATICALLY !!! Now, in our country, there are instances where people get divorce from another EU country and this divorce is already being accepted IN MALTA !!! I am not saying that the Maltese Catholic church should not air its opinion against divorce. It has all the right to do so. But to invent sins like it did in the 1960s, where ironically, a couple of years ago, the Maltese Catholic church apologised for such a 'mistake'.......they seem to have forgotten, coming out with the 'Sin of being in favor of divorce'. Well, as they say, "To err is human, to persist is ............ !!!!"
Mr K.M Edwards
May 30th 2011, 20:48
@ Adrian Cortis and all EU fanatics
You do realize of course that the EU's 800,000 page "constitution" was rejected in referendum by many member states of the EU.
The EU's course of action was to threaten member states and force them to re-vote until they voted the "right" result - namely accepting the EU constitution. Case in Point: Ireland.
The EU is the least democratic of all institutions with MEPs spending moneys well beyond the means of taxpayers. As a number of MEPs from former Soviet satellites and even British MEPs have been stating the EU is more autocratic and less democratic than even the Soviet Union was.
But I suppose in your opinion if the EU Fourth Reich says something it must be followed blindly by the Maltese.
Thankfully, even the EU recognizes that just because the EU says so does not mean "IT WILL JUST BE INTRODUCED AUTOMATICALLY". You need to learn a thing or two about government and civics.
l. theuma
Aug 22nd 2010, 09:59
The Roman, Catholic and Appostolic Church has a Devine mandate and a costitutional right to announce the The Good News. The Gospel. She is to lead Christ's faithful and tell them what is right and what is wrong. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear. Those who do not want to hear nothing and no body will prevent them to block their ears, but not the church's mouth. Sic.
Paul Barrett
Aug 22nd 2010, 11:05
The Church may have a divine right but I doubt that they have a devine right.
victor pulis
Aug 22nd 2010, 13:46
Sendng people to hell for voting yes to divorce is not exactly good news!
Dr Francis Saliba
Aug 22nd 2010, 18:09
"Sendng people to hell for voting yes to divorce is not exactly good news! "(VictorPulis) No one is "sending people to hell for voting yes to divorce". People can send themselves to hell if they willfully flout Christ's injunction for man not to put asunder that which God put together. No doubt they would pin their hope on being able to convince God that they were so SURE that they were doing the right thing in voting for divorce and remarriage because the New Testament was only an unreliable 2000 year old book, that Christ was an impostor and not the Messiah the Holy One that God had sent, that Christ never taught what is ascribed to him in the N.T. scripture and in the "fairy tales" preached by Christianity. As a matter of fact they do not believe that he exists at all. And, in any case, He should not be sitting in judgment over them because the only god acceptable to them would forgive those who rejected Him, who mocked Him and who remained urepentant to the very end. I know that men can be easily fooled - but I do not include Christ on judgment day.
Karl Consiglio
Aug 22nd 2010, 01:15
So non-religious folk have to live in a society where divorce is non existent because of them who are afraid of this Catholic invention called sin? I can't believe we are having this argument post EU entrance, unbelievable.
Joe Zammit
Aug 22nd 2010, 09:34
Karl, God's loving laws are above national laws and EU laws. In the EU, yes; but always in accordance with God's law as taught to us by his one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Joe Zammit
Aug 22nd 2010, 01:09
Legislating in favour of divorce is grave sin that separates the offender from God and puts him or her on the path to hell.
Legislating in favour of divorce is legislating in favour of evil, condemned by God.
Legislating in favour of divorce is betraying God who tells us that what he has joined together, let no man put asunder!
Legislating in favour of divorce is a diabolical step that pleases only the devil.
Legislating in favour of divorce makes you responsible before God for all the grave sins others will commit on account of your sinful and evil legislation.
Dr. John Zammit
Aug 21st 2010, 21:33
First of all I support Dr. Joe Brincat and secondly if anybody wants to see Dun Anton Gouder speaking about divorce to a Danish journalist and how in front of foreigners he speaks differently go to http://www.blip.tv/file/1528708
Paul Barrett
Aug 22nd 2010, 11:15
What a shame that you have mixed the divorce argument (which would appear to have substantial support) in with other subjects which are highly contentious and garner little support or sympathy - similar to trying to scale a 12 foot wall with a three foot ladder - doomed to failure and prone to destroy the whole case for changing the current divorce situation.
Jeremy J Camilleri
Aug 21st 2010, 20:04
To Geoffrey the vet...I would bet that no one ever reads more than your first two lines....
R.Zammit
Aug 21st 2010, 23:10
I agree with you 100%. . I guess this Geoffrey the Vet is trying to compete with Joe Zammit...the virus is slowly but surely spreading but nothing to be alarmed about as the vast majority of the Maltese and Gozitan people can decide for themselves and use their own mind .The dark old ages of the past, were ignorance was the order of the day are gone! You can fool some people for some time...BUT you cannot fool ALL the people all the time!!!
Everyone is entitled and free to believe in what is good or bad for oneself... BUT nobody has the right to impose his or her believes on others......Sin OR no Sin (sic)......
Dr. Geoffrey Schembri Adami Med. Vet.
Aug 21st 2010, 18:28
Part 5.Msgr. Gouder spoke according to the Teachings of Christ & the Magisterium of the Church. The truth hurts, & those who live contrary to the truth feel uncomfortable when the truth is spoken. For these choose to serve their own self-satisfaction rather than serve God. Those who insult a priest for speaking the truth insult Christ Himself. Those who abandon the Church for defending the teachings of Christ, abandon Christ. Those who attack the Church for doing so, attack Christ Himself. Those who abandon the Church for defending the teachings of Christ, abandon Christ. They are free to do so, but one fine day, which they do not know, they have to appear before Him and pay account to Christ Himself for their choices & their actions, especially if these have led others, especially their own children, astray from God with their scandalous example: “If anyone should be a scandal and a cause for a child to lose his faith in Me and My Word, it would be better for that person to have a millstone tied round his neck and thrown into the deep sea to be drowned.” This is a truth which nobody can ever escape from.
Dr. Geoffrey Schembri Adami Med. Vet.
Aug 21st 2010, 18:28
Part 4. “If anyone wants to be My disciple, he must renounce himself, carry his cross and follow Me.” ‘Do your best to enter by the narrow gate, because, I tell you, many will try to enter the Kingdom of Heaven by the wide door but they will all not succeed!’ ‘Those who do not keep My Word do not love Me”. “He who loves Me follows My Commandments”. “I am the true vine, you are the branches. Cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not keep My Word is like a branch that has been cut off and withers.” “I came into the world to bear witness to the truth. All who are on the side of the truth listen to My voice, &abide by My Word.”
Christ speaks to us &teaches us through His Church. For Christ’s truth is only found in the teachings of the Catholic Church. That is why Saint Augustine warns: ‘Outside the Catholic Church you can find everything except salvation’. For Christ’s truth is only found in the teachings of the Catholic Church, for it is the Holy Spirit that leads & guides His Church.
Dr. Geoffrey Schembri Adami Med. Vet.
Aug 21st 2010, 18:27
Part 3. Jesus does not impose Himself on anyone. Many, as in His times, feel His Teachings are very uncomfortable, for they want to do as they deem best & as pleases them, so they say: “His Teachings are too difficult &impractical! Who can possibly accept them?” Christ asks each and every one of us, as He asked His Apostles: “What about you, do you want to abandon Me too?” The truth is found in Saint Peter’s reply: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone are the Truth, You alone have the message of Eternal life, for you are the Son of God.” But from those who choose to follow Him, He is very demanding & esigent, & expects from them that they are loyal to Him, are faithful to all His Teachings, & imitate Him, so that they become, as Saint Paul wrote, “another Christ, Christ Himself.” He expects to be given the first place in the lives of those who choose to love& serve Him, before anything or anybody else. “He who loves his father or mother or brother or wife or children more than he loves Me is not worthy to be My disciple.”
Dr. Geoffrey Schembri Adami Med. Vet.
Aug 21st 2010, 18:26
Part 2. “To the married, I give charge, not I, but the Lord Himself, that the wife should not separate from her husband, but if she does let her remain single or else be reconciled to her husband if this is possible, &that the husband should not divorce his wife even if he lives separated from her. All of you know about God’s law, that rules over all people as long as they live, even those who do not believe in Him &reject His Word. A married woman is bound by God’s law to her husband as long as he lives. So then, if she gives herself to another man while her husband is alive, she is an adulteress.”(Saint Paul). And till the end of times the Church has the duty to defend the Truth, which cannot be modified or compromised to be adapted to the likings, opinions, and lifestyles of people. For it is the world that must adapt itself to God’s Commandments &the Teachings of Christ, ¬ the other way round!
Dr. Geoffrey Schembri Adami Med. Vet.
Aug 21st 2010, 18:26
Part 1. “In the beginning, God created male &female. For this reason a man leaves his parents &unites with his wife, &the two become one body. So they are no longer two, but one. So then, what God then has joined, man must not separate.”(Matthew19:5-6)“A man who leaves his wife &takes another woman commits adultery .In the same way, if a woman leaves her husband &takes another man, she is guilty of adultery too.”(Mark10:12) “The man who takes a married woman whose husband is still alive commits adultery which she too is guilty of.”(Luke16:18). Could Christ be clearer than this?
The Church, which was founded by Christ, defended His teachings on this issue right from the time of the Apostles. “Whoever breaks one Commandment is guilty of breaking them all. For the same God who said: ‘Do not commit murder’ &‘do not steal’, also said: ‘Do not commit adultery.’ Even if you do not commit murder or steal, you have become a breaker of God’s law if you commit adultery, just as much as one who murders or steals.”(Saint James).
Dr Francis Saliba
Aug 21st 2010, 17:02
It is a crassly unjust attempt at deception to insinuate that Mgr Anton Gouder is guilty of electoral "corrupt practice" and of making a "mistake to link a yes vote for divorce laws to sin". He is not threatening anybody. That link is not being created by him or by our local church authorities now. It is part and parcel with the official teaching of the Catholic religion throughout the world and that religion is the official religion of the republic since its inception.
When our local health authorities warn that smoking causes lung diseases and even death no one would dream of accusing them that they are "threatening" anybody or that they are making any mistake to link smoking with disease and death. Evidently they would be stating the obvious and they would only be doing their duty. The same holds true for the contemporary Church authority in Malta when it carries out its duty and when it exercises its Constitutional right to teach what is right and what is wrong, what is good practice and what is sinful.
Joseph Micallef
Aug 21st 2010, 16:08
"what God has joined together, let no man, no MP put asunder" Joe Zammit quotes Christ as saying. Well Joe guess what - Christ never uttered those words. Or maybe you use some Joe Zammit version of the Bible?
R.Zammit
Aug 21st 2010, 14:12
@ Joe Zammit : Are'nt you by now (like most of us readers and contributors ) sick and tired of your own senseless, vague, repeated arguments on this subject. Cannot believe that in 2010 there are still people so narrow one track minded and with a poor mentality of yours!
To add an insult to an injury, you are now involving Archbishop Gonzi and the 60's era in your arguments! God only knows what harm was done to the people in general and to the Church itself with the actions that were taken by the local Curia, led by( the one and only) Arch.Gonzi in those ugly dark days!! God forbits if we ever have to experience those terrible times again!!! Luckily However, nowadays dear Joe Zammit the menatily of the Maltese people in general has by far changed and everybody can use his own mind and knows what's good for oneself and NOT let others (like you) to decide for us OR impose your rediculous believes on us. The way you speak about God and how you try to persuade us of His stand on divorce, sounds so unconvincing and makes me wonder whether you are God's Butler!!!!!!
Jeremy J Camilleri
Aug 21st 2010, 13:39
And anyway..seeing that Christ's will is imperative in your insular little world...do you agree that 12 year old kids are allowed to have sex in Christ's very own city....? Of course divorce is evil....Other things don't matter....Keep it up....if there is someone propping up the pro divorce lobby, it is you...
ruth klotzer
May 17th 2011, 18:33
what about separation and annulment? is that ok with you? Aren't these injustices towards the spouses and society? for God's sake grow up!
Joe Zammit
Aug 21st 2010, 13:33
1. Divorce is a great injustice against God.
2. Divorce is a great injustice against the family
3. Divorce is a great injustice against the children
4. Divorce is a great injustice against society
5. Divorce is a great injustice against the spouses themselves.
DIVORCE NEVER!
Paul Barrett
Aug 21st 2010, 14:20
When you are so very wrong in every account except perhaps your fundamentalist version of the Christian religion, it might be wise to justify your position and explain with solid legal facts why you consider divorce in your opinion is an injustice.
Joseph Calleja
Aug 21st 2010, 14:42
Mr Zammit here you go again, repeating yourself and sounding like a broken record. If you weren't so entertaining most of us would not be commenting as we do. You should have those 5 lines tattooed on your forehead but then you don't believe in tattoos either since it mars the body. Well at least you have one more fan that thinks voting for divorce is a sin. Mgr Anton Gouder thinks the same way you do but at least he happens to be a Mgr. We don't mind reading your, my way or the highway statements, but pleeeeease Joe try to change your tune. You are starting to sound like an old Pat Boone record. WHO?
victor pulis
Aug 21st 2010, 15:25
cut & paste
A Cassar
Aug 21st 2010, 15:40
Get a life Joe DIVORCE NEVER zammit!!!
You are ridiculing yourself!! You are making a mockery of catholicism
Joseph Camilleri
Aug 21st 2010, 12:57
The anti-divorce lobby may continue to shout till kingdom come but, as surely as day follows night, divorce will be legalised in Malta in the near future. And in a decade's time, no political figure, except some rabid fundamentalist, will have the courage to say that he is in favour of repealing the divorce law. Just as today no reputable political or religious figure would speak against the emancipation of gays or in favour of the criminalisation of homosexuality or adultery. And future Church leaders will try to split hairs by arguing that some high-placed priest may have said that voting in favour of divorce was a sin but that the Church never officially stated this. It is even possible - or likely - that a future bishop will ask forgiveness on behalf of the Church for pressuring the MPs or the people to vote in a certain way and for causing them unecessary spiritual anguish. Time will tell - as it has already often done.
Mr K.M Edwards
May 30th 2011, 21:34
@Joseph Camilleri
The Council of trent already declared infallibly in session 24 cat 5 and 7 that those who hold the Church to be in error for condemning divorce for any reason is anathema that is non-Catholic. It remains therefore not only a sin from a Catholic standpoint but defines "de fide" of the faith that one is no longer Catholic who holds the contrary. If the Catholic church "changed" that doctrine, She would cease to exist.
Joe Zammit
Aug 21st 2010, 11:02
Joe Brincat, you are completely wrong. Christ told us that divorce is evil and this evil separates the offender, including MPs, from God and puts them on the path to hell.
Joe, if you think you are going to shut our mouth or the mouth of the Catholic Church, you are grossly mistaken.
Divorce is condemned by God and no MP can vote in favour of divorce without sinning seriously and grievously against God. Divorce is a mortal sin. That is the infallible teaching of the Catholic Church and that teaching will continue to echo far and wide throughout our Catholic islands and throughout the whole world.
Christian Sciberras
Aug 21st 2010, 12:21
Joe Zammit - Give us quotes where God said that divorce is a mortal sin.
While at it, also quote God telling Catholic MPs not to vote for divorce.
Jeremy J Camilleri
Aug 21st 2010, 12:32
In matters of state Dear Mr. Zammit, Christ doesn't really count...Now if you d really like a state which supposedly involves Christ, then you should try and seek residence within the Vatican City...
You'd like it there...then again, within the Vatican, the legal age for consentual sex is 12...so I guess that would make you right more letters...lol
Jeremy J Camilleri
Aug 21st 2010, 12:57
write not right..but since Zammit is always right, I get confused sometimes....
Joe Zammit
Aug 21st 2010, 13:01
Poor Jeremy! Christ and his one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church count greatly for the great majority of Maltese and Gozitans. Christ condemned divorce when he said in clear words: what God has joined together, let no man, no MP put asunder. In 2000 years the Catholic Church has never resorted to divorce. She has always taught divorce is grave sin. She and only she can tell us how we must understand Holy Scripture, especially the New Testament because the New Testament was written by members of the Catholic Church, who were all one with the Pope.
Paul Barrett
Aug 21st 2010, 13:10
Dear Mr Joe Zammit
You are doing your case a great deal of harm and I would suggest that you try and express your personal opinion in a different way, ideally not dragging your religious faith into conflict with the civil law.
From a quote from you the other day, you said "divorce is evil and detrimental to me, to you and to the whole society." You still have not answered the question I asked following your comment which was: "I would like to know how divorce is detrimental to you, me or society in general where families at war, annulments and legal separation are presumably not detrimental to you, me or society.
Marriage breakdowns are a blight on society - a divorce like an annulment helps sort out the problems of a few in allowing them, if they wish to, to try again and form a proper happy legal family group. This can only be good for society.
Can you answer that without using threats of hell and damnation which really is based on an outdated power play of fear and superstition and thus totally meaningless and does extraordinary damage the great and good Catholic Church.
Jeremy J Camilleri
Aug 21st 2010, 13:36
Joe zammit...tithassarx lili..imma thassar l uliedek u l ulied uliedek...
and anyway, if you're so confident that Christ's will be done, why do you bore us everyday?
Surely you don't believe you're writing here in his name? Now THAT wopuld be arrogant!
Alex Caffari
Aug 21st 2010, 13:47
Paul Barret. Forget it. You will not get an answer to such a question from Joe Zammit. He is only programmed to rant off a small selection of phrases designed to instill fear. He is not a true representative of the church of christ, for if he was, he would have the answers you seek. At best, he makes me yawn.
A Cassar
Aug 21st 2010, 15:44
Christ spoke AGAINST divorce and NOT AGAINST letting other people divorce!!
He said to his faithful not to divorce and not told them to prohibit people from divorcing. If God has united a couple in marriage a divorce by the court of Malta would not undo that marriage. If they want to go against God's wishes...then so be it. Let them do their own mortal sin if they want....
Joseph Micallef
Aug 21st 2010, 16:47
"New Testament was written by members of the Catholic Church, who were all one with the Pope" - well Joe YOU for one are not one with the Pope!
eugene sapiano
Aug 22nd 2010, 09:56
Did the Church also have infallible teaching when the papacy was nicknamed pornocracy because the palace of the Lateran was turned in a house of prostitution, or when there were three popes at the same time?
I also read the Bible, but I always ignore the foot notes.