So Fr Joe Borg “strongly begs to differ”.Well, well, he has every right to do so, though judging by his cavalier treatment of the recent TPPI Report on Divorce (STOM, 24 May), he has questionable reason for dismissing it the way he has.
He picks one item of reference from a long list under Bibliography and References in the TPPI Report and, after turning up his nose at it, rubbishes the whole report out of hand. Hardly an objective assessment worthy of a seasoned journalist and a minister of the Church.
Fr Borg leaves one with the feeling that the issue of divorce in Malta is too hot to handle and every possible pretext is legitimate to avoid or delay its further discussion in public fora and particularly in Parliament. “We need a study…” he claims, when there are more studies and facts given in the TPPI Report than anyone can digest in a year; and yet Fr Borg is not satisfied, lamely quoting two varying percentages of children born to unknown fathers in 2007 as stated in Parliament, as if things turned on whether it is 19.68 per cent or 9.09 per cent.
I should perhaps mention that I have no personal or close interest on the issue of divorce. I am a happily married old man and my interest is the ordinary one of a senior and responsible citizen who has the welfare of my country at heart.
I am also a practising Catholic but I have no problem
facing this important issue. I recognise that the tenor of life of thousands of our citizens is at stake.
It is therefore necessary for all who care about the quality of life in Malta to be constructive and to contribute to the debate not to stultify it. Fr Borg would have better served the cause had he indicated what he considered to be “the most authoritative and recent studies on the subject”. It might have helped ordinary people like myself to be better informed and capable of making a better judgement when the day of reckoning comes, as it must surely do.
This does not mean that I think the report has made an unchallengeable case for the introduction of divorce legislation.
Certain important assertions need to be supported by precise source cross reference as Fr Borg stated, other pronouncements, such as that the possibility of re-marriage after a marriage breaks down contributes to the stability of the State, sound gratuitous.
At the same time, the need to regulate the status of cohabiting couples and their offspring, if any, seems imperative and urgent.
The Church’s teaching cannot be brushed aside; yet again the state has to cater for all its citizens including those that do not adhere to the precepts of the Church.
J. A. Muscat
TA’ XBIEX