I had no idea that Malta was the only country in the European Union which banned divorce, though allowed marriages to be annulled. I caught the tail end of a radio interview about this yesterday, a young woman was saying how she was annulling her marriage on the grounds of her husband’s immaturity, which seemed a very bizarre reason.
Yet a recent poll on the island proved astoundingly that Malta should introduce divorce legislation with 78% support. Abortion there is also completely illegal.
One man even formed his own political party in Malta two years ago to liberalise laws, claiming that the country’s ban on divorce made them a laughing stock. He hoped that changes would be forced on human rights grounds. Nothing seems to have come of his plans.
The reason for the ban is the country’s strong Roman Catholic background and fears that divorce will harm children from broken families, especially teenagers. No account seems to have made that marriages are breaking up and spouses are forming new relationships.
The country’s Green Party believes that trying to promote divorce as an election pledge is a vote loser, so couples continue to cohabit outside wedlock.
It certainly seems very controlling. If families are already breaking up, then why is the Maltese government turning a blind eye to this?
Malta’s Alternattiva Demokratika (Green Party) Chairperson, Dr Harry Vassallo, has stated it is time for Malta to face realities about remarriage:
“It is time for our political class to grow up and catch up with the social reality of the people on whose support it depends. Nobody in Malta can reasonably claim the right to prevent somebody else from making decisions for himself or herself on matters as intimate as the decision whether or not to remarry following a separation. It is unacceptable that the political class makes such a decision for all people simply by stubbornly refusing to make any change at all.”
Although this party would also appear to have given up on this, the country’s opposition Labour party is said to be more liberal and has appointed a commission to examine this thorny and very divisive subject. I guess it’s only a matter of time before divorce will be legislated, that however terrible the word sounds to them, it pales in comparison to the hypocrisy of permitting annulments and cohabitation, while denying future happiness and security through remarriage.
That was something I was unaware of. I wonder how many people know that?
In fact, the Philippines is the only other country where divorce is still banned. Ireland allowed divorce only in 1997, whereas elsewhere in the world, Chile legalised it only a year ago.
IT, I had no idea about these other countries, you are a mine of information.
Divorce is always regrettable when children are involved, but it is a fact of life today and couples should be allowed to move on and remarry if they are unhappy.
Absolutely Ellee, I agree with your closing point totally. People may go into a union with the best intentions but, whilst I do not advocate taking divorce lightly, there are simply times when separation is inevitable.
I have seen/heard it argued that Anglican Christianity (King James Bible, Book of Common Prayer) says that divorce is against the teaching of God. But in Deuteronomy, which deals with the only human being to have ever spoken to God, God himself lays down laws in which divorce is positively mandatory, so how on Earth can divorce be against God?? Do Anglican Christians worship God and live by His laws or Cranmer and Donne and their cherry-picking of the Bible? I’ve seen it argued that the Book of Common Prayer and King James Bible are beautiful and poetic. As if poetry is automatically truth and God’s word, and beauty the thing to follow blindly. Do you not think that if Satan were to appear on Earth he wouldn’t wear a sharp suit and… for some reason I’m thinking of the very plausible and slimy Tony Blair. A regular kinda guy. Anyway, I digress. My point is that the Bible proves that divorce in NOT against the word of God. It is just not convenient for those govenors of society who wish to subjugate the people. If they can dominate the bedroom and the heart, they have your very soul.
If there is a God, he would not be against true love. So to be against another marriage is wrong. Where there is not love, let there be, when all else fails, forgiveness.
Well, Malta’s a stone’s throw from here and I can see it on a clear day. The last time I was there – 10 years ago – I thought it was rather cosily like Britain in the 50s. Now it has joined the EU, had to accept immigration and will have to change a lot. There is a price to be paid for all that.
You may find my position odd, since I’m dubious about marriage in the modern world, but I think if you’re going to have it at all, then divorce weakens it.
You forget that its legal status doesn’t actually change things much for most Catholics, since we can’t remarry without an annullment anyway.
As regards abortion, the more places that banned it, the better.
With such a small native population, Malta will be terribly affected by EU policies on migration and asylum in the years to come…In fact things are already pretty bad.
http://eux.tv/article.aspx?articleId=9911
If divorce is a “vote loser” in Malta, who are we to seek to change it!?!
[…] I had no idea that Malta was the only country in the European Union which banned divorce, though allowed marriages to be annulled … . No account seems to have made that marriages are breaking up and spouses are forming new relationships … as intimate as the decision whether or not to remarry following a separation. It is unacceptable source: Time for Malta to acknowledge divorce, Ellee Seymour – MCIPR, PRESS CONSULTANT, JOURNALIST,… […]