Those Influential Priests

The Church (in Malta) has spoken. Then again it has not. Seven men described by the Times as “high-profile” priests got together and fleshed out a declaration “about Conscience and Divorce”. The paper is described as follows by the Times:

The paper is a personal initiative of the priests even though some of them occupy prominent roles within the Church hierarchy. According to sources, the position paper has the tacit approval of the Archbishop who had mentioned the initiative during a meeting of the Diocesan Assembly.

So it is not exactly an official position of the Catholic Church – as, I must haste to add, neither was Said Pullicino’s Sunday Rant (although, one controversial element was its appearance on the website of the Archdiocese – giving it more than a look of tacit approval). In any case while the inner workings of the Church as to what constitutes approval or otherwise are not up to us to dicuss it would be sensible to have a clear cut statement at least confirming that whatever consitutes an authority in this corner of the world for the purposes of church business is in accord with the statement by the seven brothers in Christ.

The statement is a welcome contribution in the sense that it is a much less “fire and brimstone” approach to the social role of catholics in society. It must be handled in that manner. It is not blackmailing a catholic into submissive obedience but is reminding him his duty to use his conscience according to God’s word. The word “sin” is used once and qualified with “possibly” – a word denoting uncertainty. It’s not that simple though. For Catholics Divorce is not good – point 4 of the letter is as clear as crystal on that and I have absolutely no intention to argue with that because it is neither my business nor any other lay person’s. What this letter does contrary to Said Pullicino’s Sunday Rant is that it puts the catholic person’s decision in perspective of the society around him as well as making it clear how his conscience should deal with the issue.Incidentally the Times’ accompanying picture of the infamous billboard is not only misguiding but unfair towards the very efforts of the seven brothers to clear the air.

In a very Lutheran approach, the seven brothers ask the Catholic to look into his heart and use his own conscience at what he thinks is the best answer – as inspired by God and as they believe God’s will is for the common good. Man’s free will and choice based on informed reflection can lead him to any decision – he will have to face his own conscience when deciding if he chose based on good will, good intention and upon proper reflection. And that – may I remind you – is what applies to the practising Catholic.

Personally I have long reached the conclusion that were I a practising Catholic I would vote in favour of divorce legislation. As a practising catholic that would not mean that I am in favour of divorce or that I would use the option but that I am aware of my role in a wider society in which people with different faiths from my own are being discriminated against by this imposition of one faith’s precepts over another. On a social level the arguments for and against the evils of divorce might as well be the arguments for and against the evils of marriage. As a catholic living in a wider society that is not necessarily catholic I would feel safe in my conscience voting for the introduction of divorce legislation by way of my belief that I have a duty to contribute to the general well being of society as a whole. The possibility of divorce does not detract from that well being. In certain cases (though not all) it could even improve it. (An argument that applies for both marriage as contracted nowadays and divorce).

The seven brothers have introduced a new, important angle to the argument. They have, in a way, repaired the damage to the church’s image caused by Said Pullicino’s medieval stance. Their contribution should not only be noted by the greater society but should be used as an example. After all it is not just votes on the introduction of divorce that require greater reflection and an informed conscience.

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Declaration about Conscience and Divorce

We, the undersigned, have all written about the introduction of divorce in Malta. Sometimes, we may have seemed to contradict each other. So we decided to meet and clarify together our ideas on conscience and divorce and on what stand Christians could take regarding the proposed legislation favouring the introduction of divorce.

We all agreed on the following points:

1. All citizens, Catholic or not, if asked to give their judgement whether they wish or not the introduction of such a law in favour of divorce have the right and duty to follow their own conscience which needs, however, to be well informed and well formed, keeping in mind the common good.

2. Catholics should strive to have a Christian outlook on the family and on marriage and, according to the teaching of Christ and the Church, witness to this in all circumstances and to strive to see it practised in all structures of society.

3. Both as citizens as well as Catholics they should work hard so that in their country there should be stable and lasting marriages, strong families bound by love and fidelity because this is of great benefit to society at large.

4. For us, Catholics, divorce is wrong whether it is permitted by civil law or not.

5. The decision of every Catholic concerning legislation in favour of divorce in order for it to be a good and responsible decision must be reached with a formed conscience and enlightened by the teaching of Christ who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

6. The Catholic, who not caring about having an informed and formed conscience, decides to follow one’s whim, without seriously paying attention to the teaching of God’s Word and of the Church, but only follows one’s feelings, one’s own thoughts or personal advantage, if not also one’s prejudices, should realise that one is not doing one’s duty as a Catholic. One is responsible for such action before God and may possibly be sinning.

7. In order that as Catholics we reach a good moral judgement whether we want or do not want the introduction of divorce law we must in a responsible manner form our conscience and then decide according to this conscience.

Therefore, after trying seriously to form one’s conscience according to God’s Word and the teaching of the Church and trying sincerely to discover the whole truth and what really leads to the common good, a Catholic:

a) may either reach a right decision or may also in all sincerity reach a decision which, in itself, is mistaken. But whatever the case, one is always obliged to follow and decide according to one’s conscience,

b) may still, in spite of having all the necessary knowledge and having done everything to find the whole truth, in conscience not see why to vote against legislation favouring divorce. This one too has the right and the duty to follow what one’s conscience tells one.

c) may also see that in this matter one is faced by the choice between two situations which both in themselves are harmful to the common good. It is legitimate, in this case of conflict, for one to choose the lesser evil after prayer, reflection and sincere search for the whole truth.

8. This declaration should calm all those who are worried that among us there might be differences regarding the teaching of the Church. This declaration is meant to throw light on the moral responsibility of every Maltese regarding their conscience and regarding the common good of society when they have to take a position about a possible proposal to legalise divorce in our country.

Rev Prog Emmanuel Agius, Dean of the Faculty of Theology.

Fr Joe Borg

Fr Charlo’ Camilleri, O.Carm. Lecturer at the Faculty of Theology.

Mons Anton Gouder, Pro Vicar General.

Fr Alfred Micallef s.j.

Fr Joe Mizzi, Direttur tal-Moviment ta’ Kana

Rev Prof Peter Serracino Inglott