I strongly believe that legalising divorce gives any individual a democratic and legal option to end a marriage that went wrong.

But the political forces in Malta are terrified in granting such an option.

The less I say the better because I might be accused now of being anti-clerical and non-catholic.

[Moderator – Peter, learn the difference between a positive right and a negative right. Divorce is the former, and therefore beyond question.]

Not exactly: You’ve mixed apples and oranges here. Financially, I could afford neither, but the payout was made the same. The divorce from abroad was expensive, along with its unimaginably huge child support. I have a divorce, but no money. The monies pertaining to the church annulment were practically nothing. And, yes, my annulment case was determined outside of Malta, too, where the rules of church jurisdiction applied. The annulment was granted, too.

Money has nothing to do with it, especially if you can resign yourself to not having any left after a divorce.

But, there are certain potential advantages regarding making a case for a church annulment. The marriage tribunal in Malta was very, very helpful in my case; and I was very knowledgeable of the process, both because of my personal knowledge of others going through the process and because of my professional knowledge (in social work and in psychology) regarding the function and procedures of marriage tribunals. Knowing this, and with my own personal analytical insights, I also kept a clear focus on the requirements for a case to be successful. The basis for a church annulment is amply clear. And the judgement of the Church was consistent with my arguments, evidently.

There may be disadvantages for the processes of church annulments for Maltese, for marriages made in Malta. First of all, not everyone is blessed with the skills and insights to present their case properly. It is also possible that persons may not well understand what the valid criteria are and what that means in relationship to their personal case. And, there is not likely the option to file for annulment outside of Malta, where tribunals are more experienced and where they have access to sufficient and quality professional resources. This is not to say that the Malta tribunals are not good; my experience with them suggests a very high quality. But it may be hard to provide and find sufficient resources for individuals to present appropriate cases.

The rates for church annulments in Malta seem to be lower than in the US experience. The lower rates, perhaps twice lower [I no longer have the relevant data] suggest two possibilities: (1) harsher criteria or more critical judgements, or (2) cases prepared and submitted on an inappropriate or unsubstantiated basis. However, since the criteria are universal and the evalutions of the tribunal are likely up to standard in Malta, I would argue that the second possibility is the more likely situation.

There may be various cultural factors operating in Malta that render annulment cases relatively unsuccessful. I am not going to try to argue those possibilities here. I do believe that the culture of marriage preparation in Malta is insufficient. And there seems to be a much too early pairing of couples before they have had an opportunity to understand themselves, let alone explore a wider range of relationships, leading to a more mature commitment. Far too many people enter into marriage, immaturely, without understanding the true nature of its commitments–but that happens the world over, not just in Malta. But Malta may have its special difficulties, especially when marriages are defined by social status and financial factors, and by cultural expectations putting pressure on persons to marry.

People may marry for the bucks; and some divorce for the bucks; but a church annulment is not obtained by money. More professionals to assist tribunal cases may help.

I’ll keep to the subject as much as possible, as moderator rightly asked me to.

Anyone who can afford the expenses involved can have a marriage dissolved by the church.And the more you have contacts at the ‘church court’ the easier it is.

Though I hate writing on the subject of ‘divorce in Malta’,I simple say that a referendum should be held on the subject and let the majority decide.But even such a democratic step will never be taken by any administration which is terrified of the power of the church.

Once again any person who can afford, can get divorced abroad. That in return is legally accepted in Malta.

It is a question of bucks isn’t it?

Actually, I think there is an agreement on our logic; the offensive logic rests with the State.

Yes, divorce is recognized from abroad by the State of Malta; but the offense is that it does not recognize divorce for its own citizens in Malta (nor does it grant divorce to foreign citizens who would like to seek a divorce through Malta’s courts, although the foreign citizen may seek such a divorce from his/her own ex-patriate country).

It seems that Malta regards marriage as indissoluable FROM MALTA. In this way, the government mimics the church. The hypocrisy is that Malta recognizes that marriage is dissoluable, but is not disolved from its courts.

Malta, however, does regard the possibility of marriages being invalid, and it does grant civil annulments. One cannot dissolve an invalid marriage, just recognize that it was not a valid marriage. In this concept, the Malta State and the church are in agreement, although their criteria may differ, and jurisdiction is separate.

The Pauline privlege is an interesting case where legitimate marriages are invalidated by the church. There seems to be a theological logic (of mercy) behind the privlege.

Is it so hard to type in correctly spelled words?

To make a typo now and then is normal. To consistently spell simpe words wrong and use horrible grammar is what’s atrocious (and that is how to spell the damn word).