The divorce Bill before Parliament will introduce “a quick fix divorce”, according to President Emeritus Eddie Fenech Adami.

Dr Fenech Adami insisted during a debate on RTK radio he did not need an impact assessment to tell him divorce was bad because his religious beliefs already told him so.

Anti-divorce movement chairman Andrè Camilleri (left) and pro-divorce movement chairman Deborah Schembri also participated in the debate.

His criticism yesterday during a debate on Church radio RTK was possibly the first direct attack on the contents of the Bill submitted by Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Labour MP Evarist Bartolo.

The Bill proposes that a couple who had been separated for four years can agree to draw up a divorce contract, which is then submitted in court for approval.

“I have read the Bill and it is not even clear whether the judge would hear the individual parties. I cannot see an easier way to obtain a divorce from the one being proposed,” Dr Fenech Adami said.

The chairman of the pro-divorce movement, Deborah Schembri, refuted the “quick fix” label, insisting the four-year time lag gave couples enough time to reconcile their differences.

“It does not make sense to prolong the suffering of those who have passed through a separation and have lived separate lives for four years. It should be enough for these people to obtain a divorce by filing a court application,” Dr Schembri said.

The three-way debate also included the chairman of the anti-divorce movement, Andrè Camilleri, who, however, was overshadowed by Dr Fenech Adami.

While saying his movement would be producing studies in the future to show the impact divorce would have on society, Dr Camilleri constantly jibed at the fact the divorce Bill was presented without accompanying research on the state of the family.

Dr Fenech Adami said he did not need impact assessments to tell him divorce was bad for society because his religious beliefs already told him so.

“Jesus Christ, who is not any other philosopher but the Son of God, said divorce was bad for society. This is the truth and it is what I believe in. I will not budge from this position,” he said, encouraging society to be true to its roots and believe in strong families.

Dr Schembri said Christians had every right to be enlightened by their religious values on the matter but insisted divorce was a purely civil matter.

“Although divorce would affect both persons in the couple it does not oblige any of the parties to get married again if that goes against their beliefs,” she said.

Dr Schembri constantly highlighted the fact that even though divorce was not available people were still walking away from their marriage and opting to separate.

However, both Dr Camilleri and Dr Fenech Adami insisted divorce would encourage family breakdown because the permanent bond of marriage would be diluted.

“A divorce law would simply make the state an accomplice to a person’s decision to walk away from a marriage and move into a new relationship,” Dr Camilleri said, adding a marriage that could be dissolved would cause chaos in society.

Cohabitation was hotly debated by the three speakers with Dr Schembri saying without divorce separated people were forced by the state to cohabit.

“We are in favour of divorce because we favour marriage. It is much better for separated people to get a second chance to marry rather than cohabit if they decide to form a new relationship,” Dr Schembri said.

Rebutting, Dr Camilleri said in Ireland cohabitation increased by 400 per cent after divorce was introduced. Dr Fenech Adami challenged the notion a second marriage was better than cohabitation. “It is only better for the individuals because it gives them a higher social standing in a society that still values marriage,” he said.

The final round of the debate was characterised by an intense exchange between Dr Fenech Adami and Dr Schembri over the social consequences of divorce. While the former President insisted divorce harmed society, Dr Schembri argued the harm was caused by marriage breakdown, which preceded divorce.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com