Comments on: Protesting all the way to the gallows

By: Tim Ripard

Tim Ripard — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:40:47 +0000

@ Moderator. I think you’re probably right, strange though it sounds. What’s the feminine equivalent of the Maltese idiom that corresponds to cutting one’s nose to spite one’s face? As I said, a lot of harm will come from this attitude. The reactionaries will make lots of hay with this one. Look a ‘pogguta’ who doesn’t believe in divorce! The mind boggles at the ramifications of the convoluted logic. She needs help!

By: Tim Ripard

Tim Ripard — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:42:07 +0000

I find Marlene Pullicino’s attitude most disturbing – particularly since she’s a woman and therefore blessed with a hyper-effective people-assessing radar. As a public figure she can (and apparently intends to) do a lot of harm with this attitude. What kind of justification is being a Catholic for imposing your religion on non-Catholics? I think it’s high time people here woke up to the fact that they are free to accept or reject Catholicism. The Inquisition is over. Unlike in times past, the Church will no longer burn you at the stake if you wish to leave it (though they will threaten eternal damnation). Stand up and be counted!

[Moderator – If Marlene Pullicino’s objection to divorce is really because of her religious belief, then she wouldn’t be living in what her religion considers to be double adultery – unless she thinks you can pick and choose your way to heaven. Maybe her real objection to divorce is that she is uncomfortable with the idea of her husband marrying again.]

By: Ronnie

Ronnie — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:18:46 +0000

Ah but now we have the Prime Minister’s go ahead. We can actually have a discussion on divorce …. how so very nice of him!

Dear Prime Minister, it is legislation that we need and not more discussion.

By: jim

jim — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:19:26 +0000

On sex:
Most teenagers are having sex today not because they like it, but because they “have to do it” to be “normal”. (even daphne said it).I dont like this. the church on the other hand offers the wrong approach. So our children are getting unhealthy messages from both sides. hope that the church/state/parents finds the correct strategy to educate our children on this issue.

once i had a discussion with a priest on sex before marriage. He said the problem is not sex before marriage but after!!! he’s right. couples tend to have a lot of sex before marriage, and then, when they marry, they just stop or search for something else. i think when a couple has been together for sometime, they can have sex, although they have to be responsible so that they don’t put themselves in situations they could not handle. i’m totally against casual sex, one night stands, etc .

By: jim

jim — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:04:31 +0000

On divorce :
i think w’r discussing a non issue. divorce should be introduced in Malta just to end some social chaos. The point is that we should focus on healthy families and find ways to strengthen them. this should be the line taken by both the church and the state. The society will benefit. If I’m not mistaken this is also the line taken by Fr Cremona. Of course, he’s not advocate for divorce, he’s focusing on having healthy relationships during marriage.

By: freethinker

freethinker — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:02:36 +0000

@C. Buttigieg: “The funniest part about all this is that divorce is still an option if you decide to go abroad and pay for it.” No, it’s not as easy as that. For the court to take cognizance of the case and for the divorce to be registered in Malta, either or both spouses must be domiciled in the jurisdiction of the foreign court. You don’t just go for a holiday and obtain a divorce. Were it as easy as you seem to make it, many would have already sought a foreign divorce.

Yes, it would be easier were the divorce bill to be introduced immediately and the law enacted as soon as possible but it seems clear that there are not sufficient political guts right now and it seems unlikely that the bill will make it to Parliament anytime soon. If two or three more years pass without the law, then it would be too close to th elections for the party in Government to take risks and the bill will not be brought before the House. In all probability, this is what will happen. The middle ages in Malta are destined to last many more years.

By: D.M.

D.M. — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:14:56 +0000

many people are living in denial. Amen. Do the bishops realise that no one or nearly no one gives a flying damn about what they say and what they wish they could control?

By: Scerri S

Scerri S — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:09:26 +0000

Good article Daphne, hopefully it will shock some people out of their unrealistic (and selfish) Utopia illusions.

By: Edward Clemmer

Edward Clemmer — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:05:44 +0000

@DCG
I offer only one correction: The Catholic couple who wish a Catholic annulment are not told to “get divorced first.” They are told to apply for a divorce first, before starting the annulment procedure. The divorce process and the annulment process are run in tandem. However, given the usual length of time for the annulment process, it is usually the case that the divorce is obtained before the annulment process is completed.

I also think that the political circumstances in Malta are such that it would be best for the current government to introduce divorce now, before it becomes the sinking political issue in forthcoming elections. It will still be an issue for the Taliban types among us. However, given the indications from the MLP, it would seem that a genuine bi-partisan process for appropriately thought through divorce legislation would be possible; unless the MLP want to oppose the governmental process, despite their professing the issue should be taken up.

[Moderator – yes, you’re right. It has to be done now or it will become a major electoral issue, and that’s not the best idea for either party.]

By: C. Buttigieg

C. Buttigieg — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:41:29 +0000

It is unbelievable that we are still having this dilemma in 2008. Why is it so wrong for people to live and let live. If a couple want to get divorced, who am I to stop them? It seems like all the comments against divorce are always from people saying that they are happily married or by some other religious hardliner who wants to impose his beliefs on others. I too am a happily married man, and that is why I would like divorce to come to Malta, so that the ones that were unlucky the first time around could have a second go at it. The funnies tpart about all this is that divorce is still an option if you decide to go abroad and pay for it. So what is the point???

[Moderator – No, not all of those who are against divorce are happily married, just as not all of those who are in favour of divorce are unhappily married or separated. In today’s Malta Today, the Labour MP Marlene Pullicino, who is married to Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando but who has lived for some years with another man (who is also married to somebody else) explains why she is against divorce: because she is a Catholic. And so she will vote against divorce in parliament. Go figure.]