No mention of divorce was made in a document on marriage and the family, compiled by a number of youth organisations, led by the Kummisjoni Djocesana Zghazagh.

The organisations, which presented their document to MPs as they were leaving the House of Representatives this afternoon, said that young people in Malta believed that marriage was for life and still attributed strong values to the family which they defined as a union between a man and a woman, possibly with children in future.

Project coordinator Maria Borg said she expected the document to form part of the discussions being held by Parliament’s Social Affairs Committee, which was currently formulating its own document on family and marriage.

According to the report, young people believed in both civil and church marriage.

It outlined the difficulties posed by the present social situation, including financial, finding a work life balance and the fact that people had long relationships before marriage.

The youths said that preparatory education should start in infancy and childhood and courses should continue throughout married life. There should also be courses for those getting married civilly.

The organisations considered the state of the family in Malta to be positive but said that different challenges cropped up.