Archbishop Paul Cremona, writing in The Times today, says that the Church has no interest in building a theocratic state. Its only purpose is to propose and possibly influence secular society in its values, centred around love and the dignity of every person lived and acquired within the context of a stable family. 

He said that he hoped that  all those who would be voting in the referendum in favour of the stability of marriage and hence, against the introduction of divorce, on the basis of their Catholic faith, would be motivated by these sentiments.

He also observed that some were saying that the Church risked losing the faithful if it did not change with the times.

"The Church," he said, "is not interested in numbers in themselves. It is interested mainly in being a sign of the eternal teachings of Our Lord.

"Numbers at the cost of losing its identity according to Christ's teachings is not what the Lord wishes from his Church."

Mgr Cremona's article can be found at

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110526/opinion/Divine-sign-of-contradiction.367361