Divorce and abortion - the subjects of our latest opinion poll survey, whose findings are being published in this issue - are becoming increasingly topical. One proof of this is that hardly a week passes that this newspaper does not carry views for and against the introduction of divorce, while views expressed on abortion are practically all condemnatory.

The unpalatable truth is that in erstwhile "most Catholic" Malta, which with the Philippines, is the only country in the world not to allow divorce, the influence of the Church has waned considerably, as it has done in most Western countries, and a growing number of its citizens no longer feel morally bound by the teachings of the Church, which condemns divorce, cohabitation, premarital sex and abortion.

As a result we are seeing an alarming rise in the number of marriage breakdowns, in premarital sex and the number of cohabiting couples, of adulterous relationships, of children born outside wedlock and, sadly, also of abortions carried out abroad or clandestinely in Malta.

Also, society seems to have become much more tolerant of couples living together outside marriage, of married couples having extramarital affairs, of cohabiting couples who have left their spouses, of teenage pregnancies and unwed mothers.

While no-one should judge others' behaviour lest one is oneself judged, and while tolerance and understanding, and also a sense of charity, should counter any urge to discriminate, we seem to have gone to the other extreme now. That is, adultery and extramarital affairs seem to have become quite acceptable, even when children are involved.

We have often stated what we think has been responsible for this state of affairs. Certainly, the growing influence of foreign TV, films and the Internet, with their constant depiction of pagan, hedonistic lifestyles where "anything goes" is also responsible, but the answers given by respondents in our survey are quite revealing.

Asked to give the main reason for marriage breakdowns, more than half of those surveyed mentioned "money-related problems". In fact as many as 64.7% of those aged 26-35 give this reason, which is understandable, as young couples who take out a mortgage to buy their house come under great financial pressure to pay it off, which in most cases they can only do if both of them are employed.

Surprisingly, extramarital relationships came in a distant second, at 12 per cent. Other reasons given are lack of respect of women's rights, character incompatibility, and lack of prayer as a couple. Surprisingly too, inteference by in-laws scored the lowest of all, less than one per cent.

However, it is the unwillingness of one or both partners to make sacrifices, to give and take, not to be so self-seeking, which is responsible for marriage breakdown. What is happening now is that couples, even if they have been married for just a few weeks, take the drastic action of splitting up after the first serious argument rather than seek to live together in harmony.

This, in the eyes of many, points to a serious lack of adequate preparation for marriage. Some couples rush into marriage, and do not give themselves enough time to know each other. Some "jump the gun" and move in together, thinking that by doing so they would know all there is to know about the other.

The fundamental problem, in our opinion, remains that of selfishness, especially in problems like money, infidelity and incompatibility. The couple should solve their problems together, ideally, but then should not discard seeking advice from professional counsellors.

Understanding each other and being prepared to give up a lot for the other is, after all, what love is all about. In the absence of love, one cannot expect a marriage to last, even if the advent of children - the tangible expression of that love - should be the cement which binds the couple even closer together.

There are spouses in a failed marriage, of course, who are the blameless victims of abandonment and neglect. They, perhaps more than others, feel the need to start a new, loving relationship, and it is probably such cases those who argue for divorce would think of. The problem is that divorce in many countries has become almost a joke, being sought and granted at the slightest excuse, and a very easy way for lawyers to make money.

One positive sign is that even if a growing minority is arguing that divorce should be introduced, a large majority (82 per cent), according to another survey published on Friday by the team of the TV programme Xarabank, say they would not resort to it.

An even more positive sign, of course, is the overwhelming condemnation of abortion, as borne out in our survey, even if some express doubts in cases of rape, incest and serious congenital defects in the foetus.