The Church in Malta this year celebrated the feast of St Paul’s Shipwreck in an atmosphere dominated by an ongoing debate about the family, cohabitation and divorce. The feast yesterday also happened to fall within Marriage Week.
The Church has much to offer and, especially in a country like ours, much is expected from it towards the proper formation of public opinion about such sensitive issues in the light of the common good and social coherence. This is therefore a very challenging time for the Church. More so because it is clear enough that, also in Malta, marriage and the family are are also experiencing troubled waters.
The Church speaks of marriage as an intimate community of life and love founded by the Creator with its own proper laws. It understands that man and woman have been structurally created in such a way they are capable of giving oneself totally to one another for the rest of their lives. It maintains the communion of man and woman in marriage is destined to be indissoluble.
Yet, in an era marked by individualism and permissiveness, there are people who question the Church’s stand. Individualism certainly does not encourage generous, faithful and permanent self-giving. Nor does it foster a solution to the crisis of marriage. Moreover, the emerging areas of special concern in relation to marriage and the family also include the pressures of certain trends in the way of life, which contribute to family disintegration.
Difficulties of various forms might cause real friction and conflicts that could lead to marriage breakdowns, sometimes irreparably. In fact, the fragility of the marital bond has become a notable feature of the contemporary world and spares no continent and no country. The problem is often present at every level of society and makes society fragile, a situation that certainly requires action.
A major challenge in such circumstances is whether beliefs in marriage and family are being translated well enough into proper and sufficient action towards the prevention of family break-ups, especially through timely and sound expert assistance to families at risk.
Seven years have passed since the introduction of mediation services for couples filing for separation proceedings. The fact that these services helped about 600 such couples reconcile or abandon proceedings shows good fruit has been reaped.
Beyond the debate divorce, one question is whether it is time to introduce a sufficient number of well-trained family therapists to help family members find constructive ways to help each other and, in case of trouble, to possibly overcome serious difficulties in good enough time to avoid ending up initiating legal procedures against each other.
Such therapists can work in ways that acknowledge the contexts of people’s families and other relationships, sharing and respecting individuals’ different perspectives, beliefs, views and stories and exploring possible ways forward. They not only support change with individuals but also in their relationships in the family and beyond, so children, young people, adults and/or those important to them are supported in continued recovery.
Such services cost money and are primarily the state’s responsibility not that of the Church. However, the Church, which has been a pioneer of so many priceless services and whose pastoral action seeks to prevent, to accompany and to reconcile, could perhaps consider to lead the way also in such a new thrust.
It would surely be to the Church’s credit if it becomes a driving force towards seeing the nation investing adequately also in this regard.