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Bible writings against divorce – bishops

The bishops cited the Bible to preach against divorce in the Lenten pastoral letter being read out in churches today.

The emphasis of the letter by Archbishop Paul Cremona and Gozo Bishop Mario Grech was almost entirely on the need to preserve the traditional family.

“When confronted by a group of Pharisees on the subject of divorce, Jesus showed them he was disappointed and hurt. In the same way, God was hurt by the choice made by Adam and Eve. The Pharisees believed they could create a better society built on the possibility of divorce rather than on the stability which marriage provides,” they said.

The discussion on the subject of divorce has helped Christians to realise not only to what extent this erodes everlasting marriage, but it has also led to question this culture, the bishops said.

“Probably we are not even aware to what extent this has changed, and that in so doing, it has served as a deterrent to those who wish to marry and persevere in their marriage,” they warned.

“God’s plan for marriage and the family was His greatest gift to mankind. He planned this so that new beings would be born and raised within an atmosphere of love and stability. All the elements of this plan are so closely connected that when a marriage breaks down, all the benefits of this plan are lost.

“According to God’s plan, an option which favours marriage and the family is an option in favour of mankind.”

The bishops said every Christian person had a fundamental choice to make – whether they believe and allow themselves to be guided by the reasoning of God and His plan for Creation when He created man and woman in complete unity as “one body”, or whether they are led by human logic which is detached from God’s plan, leading to the destruction of this unity as a result of divorce.

“We must discern whether a society in which there is divorce offers a better future than a society which has at its foundations, stable marriages which are worth investing in.”

In an indirect reference to the fact that Malta and the Philippines are the only countries with no divorce legislation, the bishops said Christians must not be afraid to think differently from others, but should feel confident that even if they are alone in the eyes of the world on this point, they are not alone before God.

They said that those couples who were enjoying the beauty of married life should respond to the call to look lovingly upon others suffering a failed marriage and contribute towards giving them a helping hand.

The bishops urged married couples to be proud of their partners. They said married people should display photos of their partners at their workplace and not engage in conversations that ridicule married life, or in talk that belittles women.

Visit www.maltadiocese.org to read the pastoral letter in full.

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William Borg Barthet

Mar 6th 2011, 20:31

The bible is full of text that is pruned and quoted only when it suits the quoter. Here is a link full of "unfortunate" quotations http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=481813. The bible itself is a arbitrary collection of the old testament plus 4 gospels out of 12 or so other texts that were left out because they didn't suit the interpretations of the readers of the times. To be truly Christian is to believe the scripture without it being forced upon you by secular law, to base the law on the bible is wrong and, funnily enough, unchristian.

victor caruana

Mar 6th 2011, 17:56

padre pio was not married and his focus was on inflicting wounds upon himself.

Soon we would be quoting Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Bin Laden to support the fight against divorce. The battle has been lost....see today's survey.

Shaun Azzopardi

Mar 6th 2011, 18:08

Sure, divorce for Catholicism is a 'passport to hell'. That doesn't mean civil divorce recognition is. You can't stop people from making choices. They choose whether to go 'to hell' or not, crudely put. It's their choice not yours.
By fighting against civil divorce legislation you are merely fighting against recognition of a broken relationship not against the ending of relationships, when you should try to work to repair the second not stop the first.

victor pulis

Mar 6th 2011, 18:50

Victor. JZ has already quoted Sinatra!

Paul Montalto

Mar 6th 2011, 19:18

@ Victor Pulis,

Frankie got more poon than any man except for Genghis Khan !

Elaine Sultana

May 29th 2011, 20:47

Victor Caruana: A weak argument on both points. Padre Pio had the stigmata, and was renowned for being the instrument through whom God healed thousands of people. Beware what you say, it amounts pretty much to blasphemy, the more so for mentioning Padre Pio in the same breath as Bin Laden!

j gatt

Mar 6th 2011, 13:59

Easy on boy, do not carried away now.

Should that rule be enforced today, our system will collapse tomorrow, Why?

Not many citizens left to pay income Tax

anthony pace gouder

Mar 8th 2011, 10:02


...........and Adam and Eve had only (????) two sons , Cain and Abel .

Wonder who Cain MARRIED , as Abel was murdered , when it seems the only female was his MUM ! Its a mystery how they managed to increase and multiply .

edwin formosa

Mar 6th 2011, 12:01

A compelling, articulate,eloquent, clear, convincing, persuasive, gripping, captivating, fascinating, enthralling, absorbing, exciting, coherent, fluent, lucid, expressive, communicative and ..................totally wrong statement about OUR BISHOPS

Charles Sammut

Mar 6th 2011, 13:30

@ edwin formosa

I gave an example for comparison and put forward an argument to back my comment.

You just said that I am wrong. No reason given. I suppose god told you so.

edwin formosa

Mar 6th 2011, 11:42

You do not realize that there was considerable development of religious thought throughout the period of the actual writing of the Old Testament. Moreover,Jesus himself repeatedly emphasized the fact that he was changing the law of Moses to make it perfect.
Therefore, Christians cannot use Deuteronomy laws to defend any prescriptions of Mosaic law since Jesus, by his teaching and example, went beyond the law of Moses. Jesus kept love of God and love of neighbour at the heart of what He taught, thus indeed fulfilling the aim of the old law.


victor pulis

Mar 6th 2011, 12:15

@ Edwin Formosa
That was not the law of Moses. It was the law of GOD whose word doesn't change with time.
or it's not supposed to anyway.
If what Jesus said 2,000 years ago still applies, the same can be said for the word of GOD uttered 5,000 years ago.

patrick zammit

Mar 6th 2011, 13:23

Edwin
I would like to point out what Jesus himself said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” Matthew 5:17.

patrick zammit

Mar 6th 2011, 11:08

Lying is a sin!
Fornication is had between persons who are not married to each other.
Fornication - http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0982160#m_en_gb0982160

victor pulis

Mar 6th 2011, 11:46

Jesus is talking about married couples here so how do unmarried persons come into it?
JZ you have every right to defend your cause but not by twisting the facts.
In the old testament bigamy was accepted.

Deuteronomy:15 If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love, 16 when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love. 17 He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.
This is the word of God. (The old testament one anyway)

Mario Ellul

Mar 6th 2011, 16:12

@ Joe Zammit,

The subject is Roman Catholicism.
Founder: Emperor Constantine

Overview:
The Roman Catholic church, headquartered in Rome, Italy, has its own powerful City-State, the Vatican. The Roman Catholic church unofficially came into being in 312 A.D., at the time of the so-called "miraculous conversion" to Christianity of the Roman Emperor Constantine but he still worshipped the sun god. Although Christianity was not made the official religion of the Roman Empire until the edicts of Theodosius I in 380 and 381 A.D
It does not add up, what 2000 years are you talking about Joe?

Salv Lia

Mar 6th 2011, 18:22

"Only the other churches which are false have introduced in them the evil of divorce to prove they are not the Church of Christ. "

Maybe the Spanish Inquisition ( and the Maltese one also) plus the on going RC church paedophelia scandals are plenty of proof that your church is the false one after all !
The Coptic church is a far older christian church than any claims that can Rome make, which are historically proven BTW. Please remember that not all Maltese are Roman Catholic Mr. Zammit and do not appreciate your misplaced fervor and one sidedness.

edwin formosa

Mar 6th 2011, 10:55

True marriage can't be anything other than what it is : the permanent and faithful union of one man and one woman. As such, marriage is the natural basis of the family. An institution fundamental to the well-being of all of society, not just religious communities.
No matter how some may clamour that this natural view of marriage is somehow oppressive or restricting, they cannot change its basic biological, societal and spiritual character. Their alternative arguments are based on mutual use, not mutual personal gift. This mutual use is sham rally.

Paul Barrett

Mar 6th 2011, 12:57

@ edwin formosa

I respect your opinion but it is the sort of view that actually puts people off getting married in the first place. Yes, if every marriage was guaranteed to work out perfectly, it would be ideal but the reality is that a few do not work out. It is for these few who suffer through legal separation - i.e., the marriage is over, dead, finished totally, that a need for divorce legislation should be available it they want it; to be able to re-enter married society in a civil marriage.

victor pulis

Mar 6th 2011, 10:33

Anyone who needs a photo of one's spouse in front of him/her to remind them that they're married has a big problem!!

victor pulis

Mar 6th 2011, 10:31

The Constitution states that the authorities of the Catholic Church have the right and duty to teach what principles are good and what principles are bad.

What the constitution does NOTsay is that the church should IMPOSE its teachings on everyone.
If the victory is guaranteed why don't you lay back and wait for the battle to be over?
In fact why fight in the first place? The devil should concede defeat and give you a walk over!

patrick zammit

Mar 6th 2011, 14:21

The battle between common sense and religious imposition has already been won by the vast majority of the world's population as even under the Talibans, divorce is acepted as a civil right.

Gerry Cowie

Mar 6th 2011, 10:11

Surely, Dr Bezzina, you must realise that priests do not discuss what they hear within the confessional, nor do they keep statistics on subjects covered or how many people enter the box. Therefore what leads you to say this:-

"ask the many priests who listen to what is stated to them about the huge percentage of infidelities that have long been doing the rounds among us,this staunch Catholic country."

What firm evidence can you provide for your claim regarding "other forms of spirituality" ?

Malta is indeed a staunchly Catholic country. It is full of human beings who make mistakes.

What exactly is the basis of your "arguement" (sic)?

Charles Sammut

Mar 6th 2011, 10:35

@ Gerry Cowie

Through confessions, the Catholic Church has the most widespread and effective intelligence network on Earth. What priests hear in confessions is passed on and evaluated and studied all the way to the Vatican. That way the fidili can be manipulated and kept in check to guarantee the privileged position of the Catholic Church. Nowadays the CC cannot use torture and fire, so it uses more subtle methods of instilling fear of the fate of the 'soul' in the hereafter. Once you accept that there is no hereafter, you have slipped the bonds of religion.

l.theuma

Mar 6th 2011, 10:43

The Bishops are duty bound to transfer to us Christ's teaching and so they did. Not even Christ formed part of the Marriage Circle. Can we call him outcast? The outcasts will surely be those who when asked by the same Jesus about their behaviour will not have a positive answer.

edwin formosa

Mar 6th 2011, 12:17

So if I am mentally sick I have to go to a doctor who is among the genre to be referred to as mentally sick patients just like me.

edwin formosa

Mar 6th 2011, 10:24

God is so great that he does not need man to talk on his behalf, but he founded His Church to do precisely just that.

l.theuma

Mar 6th 2011, 10:51

This is the behabviour of lthe rich man in the parable who wanted God to send a messenger to give a warning to his brothers. Look to it and find the answer.

David Buttigieg

Mar 6th 2011, 11:56

"God is so great that he does not need man to talk on his behalf, but he founded His Church to do precisely just that."

Says the church .....

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