I am becoming increasingly aware that a number of practising Catholics have decided to abstain from voting in the divorce referendum; the reason being that such people prefer to take a neutral stand on this matter.

However, the Catholic Church is anything but neutral. The Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes, states: “The intimate union of marriage as a mutual giving of two persons, and the good of the children demand total fidelity from the spouses and require an unbreakable unity between them.”

Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio, states: “It is a fundamental duty of the Church to reaffirm strongly, as the Synod Fathers did, the doctrine of the indissolubility of marriage.”

Pope Benedict at the Waterfront a year ago, emphatically urged us to defend the permanence of marriage. The bishops’ pastoral letter for Lent this year invites us to do some serious soul-searching as to where we stand regarding the sacrament of marriage and our faith in Jesus Christ.

The media and popular opinion in favour of divorce are loud and can easily deceive the unwary, but Jesus Christ has this to say about divorce: “Let no one separate what God has joined.” Mk 10, 9.

A true follower of Christ cannot be a passive spectator of events. On the contrary, he is the one who takes up the challenge and is not afraid to give witness to his faith. True to tradition, this year there were several thousands of people present for the processions of Our Lady of Sorrows that were held all over Malta and Gozo. Surely, the best way to honour Our Lady is to go beyond tradition and to be true witnesses of Jesus Christ: Precisely as she requests in her own words, in the wedding at Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.” Jn 2,5.