Malta votes to introduce divorce laws
By Connie Agius
Updated 2 hours 41 minutes ago
Audio: Malta says 'yes' to divorce (PM)
A weekend referendum in the Mediterranean island of Malta found majority support for the introduction of divorce laws.
But it was a tight win for the pro-divorce movement, with just over 53 per cent voting in favour of the referendum.
The result was announced just before lunchtime on Sunday by Malta's prime minister, Lawrence Gonzi, who had campaigned heavily against the introduction of divorce.
"The majority result in favour of divorce is not the result that I'd hoped for," he said.
"But the will of the people has to be respected and parliament should enact a law for the introduction of divorce."
The referendum asked whether divorce should be legalised "in the case of a married couple who has been separated or has been living apart for at least four years and where there is no reasonable hope for reconciliation between the spouses, whilst at the same time ensuring that adequate maintenance is guaranteed and the welfare of the children is safeguarded".
Malta's opposition leader Joseph Muscat hailed the result as a revolutionary shift in Maltese society.
"Today a different Malta was born, a new Malta. Now we need to respect the majority," he said.
Ninety-five per cent of the Maltese population are Roman Catholic.
Lino Vella, editor of The Maltese Herald, says the Catholic Church plays a significant role in the country's political system.
"As a matter of fact, Bishop Gonzi, at that time of World War II, he fought hard so that Malta would never integrate with Britain because he didn't want divorce coming to Malta. So the Church has always had that hold," he said.
Despite the Catholic Church claiming they did not run an official campaign against the pro-divorce movement, Valletta's Archbishop Paul Cremona warned churchgoers against a yes vote in a letter read out at religious services.
"By this vote the citizen will either build or destroy," the letter said.
"A choice in favour of permanent marriage is an act of faith in the family, built upon a bond of love which cannot be severed."
The anti-divorce movement's campaign attempted to capitalise on these traditional Catholic concerns, posting billboards around the country which said, "Jesus Christ - yes; divorce - no".
One of movement's campaigners Arthur Galea Salomone told The Times of Malta they were only fulfilling their role of informing the public.
"I think we have fulfilled our role and our responsibilities. And we will now let the parliamentarians fulfil theirs," he said.
The head of the pro-divorce movement Deborah Schembri told the same newspaper the referendum made it clear that Maltese people wanted the right to divorce and urged the country's leaders to respect the majority's wishes.
"We've seen party politics to a certain extent being given the side and the people speaking out of their own hearts and in a very altruistic way," she said.
"I think politicians should listen to the people more and that is I think the best message that has come out of this."
Prime minister Lawrence Gonzi leads with a slim majority and even with dissent in his own ranks the divorce legislation is expected to pass.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05...?section=justin
