The bishops yesterday sought to reinforce the Church’s obligation to make its voice heard on divorce, marriage and the family, insisting this was “a contribution” and not “an imposition”.
In a pastoral letter that came at the end of a week dominated by the divorce issue, the bishops said the Church was obliged to “spread the good news of the kingdom throughout the world” not simply in a religious context but also for the benefit of society.
Archbishop Paul Cremona and Gozo Bishop Mario Grech said: “It is not an imposition but a contribution which we are offering to society. After all, we do the same thing when we help those who are in need, and yet no one says we are imposing (anything); this is also the case when we speak out in favour of justice and the environment.”
The pastoral letter makes it clear divorce goes against Christ’s teachings and that it changes the very nature of marriage “as ordained by God from the very beginning”.
The bishops quoted passages from the Bible when Christ was questioned about marriage and divorce, insisting “at no point did Jesus specify any form of condition or manner in which divorce could be instituted”.
Christ’s words were also intended, the bishops added, to safeguard the common good.
“Jesus’s words are proved to be true when we see the reality experienced in other countries. They introduced divorce because they felt it would solve their problems related to marital breakdown and instead problems multiplied,” the bishops said, insisting this was also confirmed by research studies and statistics.
They urged Catholics, including priests and religious, to contribute to the debate on divorce and marriage by “fulfilling and protecting” Christ’s teachings.
The pastoral letter steered clear of the issues raised in a position paper on divorce and conscience published on Wednesday by seven influential priests and which the Archbishop later endorsed.
It also avoided any reference to the comments of the Church’s Judicial Vicar Mgr Arthur Said Pullicino, who said members of the judiciary would be guilty of “grave sin” if they presided over divorce cases.
The whole letter in English may be read at the pdf link: http://media1.timesofmalta.com/tomcdn/20101016—170000-letterenglish.pdf
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