That our prime minister is anti-divorce does not come as a surprise, having lived a life of a practising Catholic, raised in the traditional beliefs of a Maltese family, as laid down in our Constitution. The road taken was clearly foreseeable and his tenure of office is one of a long line, time honoured.

Unfortunately, many see divorce as a potential ploughshare that runs through the ground on which family stability stands; and it is clear that the family favour the very fabric of society at the very forefront of national importance. It is said that, in most, countries, divorce has an amazingly bad record.

For the true Catholic, the words of Jesus Christ leave no place for ifs and buts. They are uniquely categorical. And just as a true Catholic cannot be called a proper communist, so the true Catholic cannot go against the word of Our Lord. Even the Pontiff has no alternative to offer.

All politics apart, and with due respect to all in whatever circumstances, one feels that the choice made freely by each and everyone of us should not prove too difficult in a predominantly Catholic country.

As in other well-known cases, for those who believe and consider the oath taken on marriage as having a meaning commensurate with the wording no regimentation is necessary. For those who do not believe and consider the marriage vows a meaningless ritual promise and obligation, no persuasible explanation to the contrary is possible, the more so in the light of personal circumstances.

The outcome is of supreme importance to each and every citizen, to the unmarried and to the happily or unhappily married. Once more, because of this, Malta “expects every man to do his duty”, and awaits the best objective solution it deserves.

Dr J. Zammit Tabona

ST JULIAN’S