As the Maltese electorate is about to vote in a consultative referendum on whether the divorce law should or should not be introduced in our country, it is appropriate to continue enlightening our conscience regarding this delicate and crucial matter. This year’s Lenten pastoral letter penned by our bishops offers the necessary guidance concerning this thorny issue.
Culture, as powerfully expressed through public opinion, is not the secure criterion on which marriage and the family should be evaluated. Culture changes all the time. Rather, God’s and Christ’s reasoning are the authentic solid foundations on which a just and truthful appreciation of marriage and the family is to be conducted.
Contrary to the unnecessary complexities inflicted by the relativistic post-modern culture, God’s plan for marriage and the family is simple, enduring and life giving.
This plan, the greatest gift God gave to mankind, takes into consideration the dignity of every person − man and woman − that does not stem from culture but from the fact that they were created equal in the image of God. This is God’s gift of the woman to the man and the man to the woman; the attraction which he instilled in the human being and which is transformed into an enduring love – becoming ‘one body’. God planned this in order that new beings would be born and raised in an atmosphere of love and stability (see Genesis Chapter 1 and 2). All the elements of this plan are so closely connected that when a marriage breaks down, all the benefits of this plan are lost. According to this plan of God, an option that favours marriage and the family is an option in favour of mankind.
Jesus said: “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished” (Matt 5, 17-18). In view of this important declaration, Jesus strongly and convincingly reiterated God’s plan for marriage and the family. Thus, the bishops teach that “true love must be based on the Christian teachings of Jesus Christ. One episode in the life of the Lord Jesus clearly demonstrates God’s plan in the context of marriage and the family” (Mt 19, 3-10). When confronted by a group of Pharisees on the subject of divorce, Jesus showed them that he was disappointed and hurt. In the same way God was hurt by the choice made by Adam and Eve. The Pharisees believed that they could create a better society built on the possibility of divorce rather than on the stability which marriage provides.
Hence, in God’s and Christ’s reasoning there is no place for divorce.
“For I hate divorce, says the Lord the God of Israel” (Mal 2, 16).
“Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.’ They (Pharisees) said to him, ‘Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?’ He said to them, ‘For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so” (Matt 19, 4-8).
While acknowledging that a growing number of families are experiencing hardships and difficulties in their marriages, the bishops not only appeal to the help of “those couples who are enjoying the beauty of married life” but also give some practical suggestions for the healing, preserving and deepening of married and family life. “We wish to offer some recommendations as to how this may be lived out: you may reflect on your married life in the light of the nature of love that flows from the Cross of Jesus. In your married life, draw closer to one another in the Lord Jesus by attending Mass together regularly on Sundays and through daily prayer. Integrate your Lenten sacrifices in your conjugal life: work to conquer any elements that are hindering your love. Bear witness to your marriage everywhere and without embarrassment: display photographs of your husband/wife at your workplace, do not engage in any conversations that ridicule married life, or participate in any talk that belittles women”.
Jesus said: “So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 10, 32-33). By your no vote to the introduction of divorce in Malta in the referendum of 28 May, you will be defending God’s and Christ’s reasoning and plan for marriage and the family. “Till death do us part”. Count your duty as God’s blessing on Maltese families!
Mario Attard OFM Cap