A correspondent writing in The Times (January 6) quoted what Archbishop Paul Cremona wrote in the booklet Flimkien: “When divorce enters a country, you will know that who is near you (during the marriage ceremony, civil or religious) has been given the right to leave you.”

With all due respect to our amiable Archbishop, I see it in a totally different light. Firstly, when getting married in Malta, either in a religious or civil marriage, there is no guarantee that either of the spouses will not leave the other later in life through separation procedures.

What remains after that is just a piece of paper called the ‘marriage certificate’. I cannot imagine any spouse being happy because they still have that piece of paper.

Secondly, when divorce finally makes it onto Malta’s statute books, “You will know that who is near you (during the marriage ceremony, civil or religious), will not be able to destroy your life forever if, God forbid, they should ever decide to leave you and if you wish to build a new relationship based on marriage and not cohabitation”!