Am I a traitor by voting for the introduction of divorce in Malta?

“Be very careful” he told me: as a member of parliament no one is above Jesus Christ. Say ‘No’ to divorce, which is the beginning of the end for Malta. I expect and would appreciate an answer.”

I will be voting for the introduction of divorce in Malta if I am given the opportunity: either in parliament or in a referendum. By doing so I have no illusion of being a saviour or better than Jesus Christ. Personally I do not need divorce. I have been married since 1977 and am still with my wife and both of us intend to die as a married couple.

But I cannot turn my back on those couples whose marriage has failed and would like to be given the chance to a start a new married life. Introducing divorce in Malta does not mean imposing it on those who still want to live according to the teachings of the Catholic Church like the constituent who wrote to me. I believe that no one should dictate to the Catholic Church and its followers what to believe and how to practice their belief.

I believe in an open and democratic society where there is separation between church and state, where there is liberty for those who follow a religion and those who follow no institutionalized religion. While every religion has the right to tell its followers what to believe and how to live, it has no right to impose its beliefs on others who do not want to live according to its teachings.

We have too many persons suffering because divorce is not available locally. Apart from protecting the partners whose marriage has failed and who have been abandoned without any rights, we also need to take care of the children who are caught in these situations. We must also make it possible for those whose marriages have broken down, to have a fresh start in life.

Committing ourselves to introduce new civil rights in Malta should be part of the answers we need to give to these difficult questions:What does the Labour Party stand for in the second decade of the 21st century? How can it run Malta better than the PN and create the necessary political, economic, social and cultural conditions in our islands to give our people a much better quality of life?  Shouldn’t we take real steps to start moving closer to the open and liberal societies of the EU?  

If as PL we fail to live up to our tradition of being the party that introduces liberal social reforms in Malta we cannot blame those who lose hope in us and see us as another shade of PN, unable to offer an alternative to the increasing number of people who want our society to open up and become more liberal and socially tolerant and just, like the more socially progressive countries in the rest of the world.