What about non-consummation? That happens (or doesn’t as it happens) afterwards.

Finally, do you have any idea why Mintoff brought in civil marriages, legal separations and civil annulments but not divorce (even though divorce from abroad was allowed)?

So from the church point of view the ‘punishment’ for adultery comes on judgment day i.e. the life after this one.

[Daphne – Please. Surely you must know that in any system other than a theocracy, you don’t get punished on earth for religious transgressions. Adultery wasn’t a crime because it was a religious transgression. It was a crime because it broke a contract. In the same way, people could be held to their promise to marry and forced to marry even against their will once they had given their word (hence ‘engagement’). That was done away with in the 19th century, in Malta.]

I have never been brainwashed er… sorry I meant religiously indoctrinated. They won’t give an annulment for adultery will they?

[Daphne – No. There is no such thing as an annulment, but only a declaration of null. An annulment annuls. A declaration of nullity means there was no marriage to start with. Hence, adultery has nothing to do with it, because it takes place AFTER marriage, by definition. Factors on which a marriage is declared null must obviously have been present before the marriage and not afterwards.]

Don’t you know your Bible? Moses comes down from the mountain and addresses the multitude. “I’ve got good news and bad news” quoth he.

“First the good news – I’ve managed to get the list cut down to ten”.

“Now the bad news – number seven is still on the list”.

What does the church say about adultery?

Jien se niddikjara li jien “prudenti.”

[Daphne – Adultery is not against the law. It was decriminalised a long time ago. It is, however, considered a breach of the contract of marriage and is grounds for separation – not that you need grounds, really. As a side note, women are as likely as men to commit adultery and have far more opportunities to do so.]

The question should ask whether we agree or not with divorce legislation, without including any other issues.