The Catholic Church is not against the introduction of divorce in order to retain any power it has, theologian Fr Rene Camilleri said tonight.

Speaking at a public meeting at the Millenium Chapel, Fr Camilleri said that after the Second Vatican Council, human dignity was the yardstick of the church's social vision, and it was that which led it to oppose divorce.

Fr Camilleri said the church's concern was over how the removal of marital indissolubility measured up to the dignity of human beings.

The theologian shrugged off talk of sin, saying Christian life should not be based around "not sinning" but instead take a positive step and 'aspire to what is good.'

In the case of marriage, this good was the ideal of a lifelong commitment which was one of the cardinal elements of what made it a marriage.

"Broken marriages and broken promises do exist, but because of the casualties, should we give up the ideal? ... If politics is emptied of ideals, we lose what gives us our compass," he said, adding that modern society had lost many of the reference points it had, including notions of truth.

"The Church is telling Malta – which is the vision of marriage which people should keep as an ideal?"

"Let's say my nephew is an atheist who wants to marry civilly. Should I not be concerned about what  kind of commitment he is entering into is?" the priest asked.

However, he also complained that the issue was not being given the attention and consideration due to it, and that the public was being made to decide on an issue where there was no clear research and which had become overly politicised.