Kate Gonzi and Michelle Muscat underlined the benefits of united families this morning, while they disagreed in their views on the introduction of divorce.

The two were the guest speakers as a discussion organised by the anti-divorce movement - Zwieg bla-divorzu - which concentrated on Mother's Day.

Mrs Muscat spoke on her personal challenges in raising three-year old twins while her husband's work kept him away for long periods and said it was only her love for her husband which kept her going.

She said she agreed with comments made yesterday by Dr Muscat that the State should be involved in marriage preparation and not just rely on the Church.

The State she said, should also have the support structures to offer family counselling throughout marriage.

Mrs Muscat said she disagreed with the line being taken by the anti-divorce movement for several reason which she did not wish to discuss there, but she strongly believed in tolerance.

While marriage preparation and support measures to prevent problems were very important, the  State should also offer remedies when things went wrong, as they sometimes inevitably did.  The State, she said, needed to cater for all realities.

Both Mrs Muscat and Mrs Gonzi underlined the need for greater emphasis in education on the changing roles of husbands and wives, and how spouses should constantly help each other as roles overlapped in many areas.

Mrs Gonzi focused on the the role of women in society, particularly as mothers. The main role of women should always be to protect the stability of the family, she said, because there was no greater treasure  than the stability offered by a lasting marriage. Divorce, she feared, could undermine the stability of marriage.

Both Mrs Gonzi and Mrs Muscat urged their listeners to also keep in mind mothers going through particular problems, including those going through a marriage breakdown.

They also urged their listeners to remember those women who wished, but could not become mothers. 

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