Opposition spokesman on justice Beppe Fenech Adami told Parliament on Monday that couples who suffered grave injustices for several years with regard to marriage annulment proceedings deserved an apology.

The agreement between the Holy See and Malta, signed in Malta in 1993, provided that the Ecclesiastical Tribunal was to be supreme over Maltese civil courts with respect to annulment proceedings.

Speaking during the debate in second reading of the Marriage (Amendment) Bill, Dr Fenech Adami said that the current marriage legislation had unfortunately resulted in giving leeway to abuse of the system and an apology was due.

He said in a number of cases where the civil courts were about to grant the annulment of a marriage applied for by one of the spouses, against the wish of the other, it was possible for the disgruntled spouse to apply for an annulment at the Ecclesiastical Tribunal to delay the process. In such cases, the civil court was bound to stop proceedings and wait for the Ecclesiastical Tribunal’s decision since this had precedence. The result was that the annulment took a long number of years to be granted.

The Opposition, he said, would be voting in favour of the Bill.

He said the Church was partly to blame for this situation because it had dragged its feet in rectifying the overly long process to be granted an annulment, with cases taking many years. This had resulted in a lot of suffering to the parties concerned.

Divorce had brought about a distinction between Church marriage, which was still considered as a permanent contract, and civil marriages, which could be dissolved through divorce. The Marriage Act gave the same rights to both civil and Church marriages.

The distinction between State and Church was undeniable but it was important that MPs held to their own beliefs when taking decisions of behalf of the State. At the end of the day, religious beliefs helped shape good politics through important principles of solidarity, ethics and good behaviour.

Marriage was a fundamental institution to Maltese society and should remain as such. The Church played an important role in preparing couples for married life through the Cana courses. Unfortunately, no such courses existed for couples who opted for a civil marriage.

Dr Fenech Adami agreed with Labour MP Deborah Schembri’s suggestion that these courses should be introduced as an opportunity for couples to learn about the social and legal implications of marriage.

Concluding, the Opposition spokesman urged those in charge of taking decisions in annulment, separation and divorce cases to give a voice to children involved and to safeguard their best interests.

Claudette Buttigieg (PN) said that both sides agreed on the amendment, adding that instability in marriage often led to economic instability.

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