Indissolubility only applies to Christian marriages and it would be wrong for Catholics to impose it on people with other beliefs, according to a former Palermo parish priest.

Speaking at a press conference organised by the Catholic pro-divorce group yesterday, Giovanni Avena, who is the editorial director of the Catholic journal Avista, said Catholics were duty-bound not to impose their beliefs on non-believers.

Dr Avena supported the introduction of divorce in Italy some 37 years ago, together with many other priests and bishops. After the referendum secured the new law, the Church invited these priests to leave their priesthood, and Dr Avena was one of those who took up the offer.

In Italy, he said, it was mainly the Catholics who tipped the balance in favour of divorce because they felt a sense of freedom in voting.

“Catholics who voted in favour of allowing this choice felt at peace with themselves and their conscience,” Dr Avena said.

In Malta, he said, he felt the Church was a bit more rigid and conservative than in Italy, which also had a rigid and conservative Church.

The editor, who also has a PhD in theology, said the conflict in Italy existed between the Church and Christian Democratic party, while in Malta it was between the Church and the State directly.

Christian marriage, he explained, was a sacrament, where the fundamental matter was the bond of the newly-weds, but when this love was replaced by hate and violence, there was no longer any sacrament.

Although people may choose to continue to live in this state, and this deserved praise, it could not be imposed on other people, he said.

Asked about the effect on Italian society of the existence of the divorce right, Dr Avena said it was positive overall because people who were suffering in silence gained a new freedom.

During the same press conference yesterday, held in front of the White Shadows statue in Sliema, Carmel Hili of the Catholic pro-divorce group, praised the bishops for this weekend’s pastoral letter, saying the group supported their counsel that Catholics must consider their vote as a free vote.

“This confirms earlier Church official communiqués that a yes vote would not incur any sin whatsoever,” the group said.

However, the way the bishops presented the choice as one between permanent marriage and divorce “banalises the issue at stake”, Mr Hili said.

Convinced that a yes vote was not a sin, the group maintained that people who voted in favour would still be able to receive Holy Communion. Yesterday evening, Dr Avena met members of the public at the Msida local council to give his testimony on the divorce referendum in Italy.