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Divorce 'a matter of informed conscience' say theologians in new declaration
But Catholics who support divorce "without informed and formed conscience… may possibly be sinning,” says declaration by a wide spectrum of priests and theologians.
13 October 2010, 12:00am
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
3 min read
In the latest twist on faith and divorce, after the head of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal said that lawyers and judges who cooperate in divorce proceedings would be ‘sinning’, clerics from the Maltese curia and the University of Malta have issued a statement that puts the onus of divorce on the individual’s conscience.
The declaration was signed by the Faculty of Theology’s dean Prof. Emmnuel Agius, media lecturer and former RTK director Fr Joe Borg, theology lecturer Fr Charlò Camilleri, the Canaan Movement director Fr Joe Mizzi, Fr Alfred Micallef, former university rector Prof. Peter Serracino Inglott, and even the Archbishop’s pro-vicar general Mgr Anton Gouder – known for his conservative views.
“For us, Catholics, divorce is wrong whether it is permitted by civil law or not,” the declaration states.
But short of declaring outright an agreement with Mgr Arthur Said Pullicino that voting for divorce is a sin, the declaration offers three scenarios where a Catholic’s ‘reasoned’ conviction to vote for divorce may still be wrong.
A Catholic should strive to form their conscience according to God’s word and the Church, but may reach a right yet mistaken decision: in such case, “one is always obliged to follow and decide according to one’s conscience.”
Catholics may “not see why to vote against legislation favouring divorce” even after having all the necessary knowledge. “This one too has the right and the duty to follow what one’s conscience tells one.”
And Catholics may also choose the lesser evil “after prayer, reflection and sincere search for the whole truth.”
The declaration is a collection of points of agreement that seem to be trying to clear the clouded statements from the members of the Church of whether voting for divorce in a possible referendum, would be a sin in itself.
“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,” the declaration states.
“Catholics should strive to have a Christian outlook on the family and on marriage… they should work hard so that in their country there should be stable and lasting marriages…
“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,” the declaration states.
The theologians appear to be placing the onus on individuals’ conscience, as they claim that those who follow their “whims… 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.”
Catholics who reach a “good moral judgement” must “form [their] conscience and then decide according to this conscience.”
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
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How dare the priests say divorce is a sin. The priest are the ones to follow all the gods words,with all the criminal activities with children. When you need help none of these do gooders are going to help you.
Donella Agius •
So we have now Fr Joe Borg as Professor about the conscience. Some time ago he openly disobeyed the archbishop (Mons. Mercieca at the time) and went to work with the Public Broadcasting. Other priests who did much less than that were threatened by the archbishop with suspension. So according to Fr Joe Borg´s conscience, what he did was perfectly right. At that time he said so also on TVM. So according to the logic of Fr Joe Borg, as regards divorce, one does what one wishes and he is acting according to his conscience and is therefore in the right.
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Few know that this concept of "conscience" was introduced in Maltese politics by Dom Mintoff in the 60's. Mintoff spoke about conscience when he tried to introduce the famous 6 points-( today they are part and parcel of our constitution). Back then however,the rogue Catholic leader the arch conservative and reactionary Mikel Gonzi, considered conscience to partain solely to the domain of the Church; the ordinary people had no right to make up their own conscience! That is why mortal sin, eternal damnation, and the human rights violations, were inflicted on Labourites,so that the PN could govern undemocratically for 10 years. Then, Dr Fenech Adami,( a member of the PN,and later the saviour of democratic Malta), did not boycot or cry foul, or lift a finger, to remedy this undemocratic situation,instead he happily accepted the undemocratic elections result: not one, but two of them.
So it is with great joy to read that the most progressive wing of the Church has finally accepted that concept of conscience after 50 years. Its never too late to say sorry; Mintoff was right.
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The main concern of the signatories is that “This declaration should calm all those who are worried that among us there might be differences regarding the teaching of the Church.”
Indeed the priests making the declaration call themselves theologians, and one of them even emphasized that he is so by vocation and profession. They had made opposing declarations and some of them even ridiculed the other party for making their statements.
Perhaps the controversies between them were due to their uninformed conscience. It is interesting to know how they have now formed their conscience.
Is conscience elastic?
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DIVORCE is without religion.
Divorce legislation has got to do with protection and consequences when a contract that two adults had undertaken is being challenged to be dissolved for whatever reason.
For those Catholics who believe that Annulment is the answer and can face their children by declaring that their marriage vows and married life was a sham, then that is their business. This choice will still remain.
How the children can claim their due maintenance and inheritance from a marriage that never existed continues to avoid clarification by the so called theologians.
Divorce is Caesar's law and Annulment is the Vatican's law with it's interpretation of Christ's teaching.
But even the Christ's teaching tells us to seperate and honour both laws.
How staunch Maltese catholics can assume that they have a God given right to deny a spouse and children their legal rights to seek social justice in the civil courts, after years of married obligations is beyond comprehension.
This is the 21st. Century and Malta is an EU member state not some medieval island controlled by the inquisition of these theologians.
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Jiena nghid lil KNISJA (L- 4 Qassisin ) li ghandha bhal Ft Joe Borg u Mons Gouder u xi ohrajn li ghandhom ma PERCUWX hwejjighom ghalissa li aktar ser TGERXU nies mil Knisja ghalhekk nitlobkom biex kemm jista ikun tghalqu halqkom ghax il generazjonijiet tallum mhiex bhal ta QABEL u JIGU jaqaw u iqumu mil knisja Biss biss kemm fl-antik QASSISIN kienu igalu lil familji jitabbew bhafna TFAL illum kullhadd tghallem tfal min 1 sa 2 ghax int trid tahdem ghalihom mhux il QASSIS li ghidlek biex tibqa iggib it TFAL mela l-inkwiet li ikun hemm bejn il mizzewgin huma iridu isolvhom u mhux Father Joe Borg jew Monsinjur Gouder ara dawn il PAPPA taghhom ASSIGURATA
Alfred Galea •
[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,” the declaration states.]
Nothing wrong with them saying this. Whether it refers to divorce or elections.
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HEADLINE:Divorce 'a matter of informed conscience' say theologians in new declaration
COMMENT: Theologians really !!! From where I stand it's more like hypocrites.
REASON: First they should take a good hard look at their inner sanctum and re-instate whatever faith, hope and respect, one can find is left in regards their opinions.
How dare they abuse the teaching of Christ to manipulate public opinion when the public is so full of disdain towards all they have witnessed, in all the unspeakable wrongs that has been done to thousands of catholic families worldwide. Not to mention the billions of dollars that was paid in compensation which came through the generosity of good catholics.
According to these theologians; Malta will be the last country to adopt divorce laws that protects spouses and children when one spouse or the other decide to withdraw from his or her marriage contract.
Annulment pretends that the marriage never existed and threat children as if their parents weddings vows were just a sham.
The turmoil of the 50's & the 60"s are re-surfacing. Sinning and excommunication was loosely used then too, unfortunately at that time in history, the island was cut off and censored from wordly information to be aware of children's sexual abuse and other monstrosities.
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Hitler, Franco and Mussolini were given VETO power over whom the pope could appoint as a bishop in Germany, Spain and Italy. In turn they surtaxed the Catholics and gave the money to the Vatican. Hitler wrote a speech in which he talks about this alliance, this is an excerpt: “The fact that the Vatican is concluding a treaty with the new Germany means the acknowledgement of the National Socialist state by the Catholic Church. This treaty shows the whole world clearly and unequivocally that the assertion that National Socialism [Nazism] is hostile to religion is a lie.” Adolf Hitler, 22 July 1933, writing to the Nazi Party
Hitler worked CLOSELY with Pope Pius in converting Germanic society and supporting the church. The Church absorbed Nazi ideals and preached them as part of their sermons in turn Hitler placed Catholic teachings in public education. This photo depicts Hitler with Archbishop Cesare Orsenigo, the papal nuncio in Berlin. It was taken On April 20, 1939, when Orsenigo celebrated Hitler’s birthday. The celebrations were initiated by Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) and became a tradition.
Each April 20, Cardinal Bertram of Berlin was to send “warmest congratulations to the Fuhrer in the name of the bishops and the dioceses in Germany with “fervent prayers which the Catholics of Germany are sending to heaven on their altars.” (If you would like to know more about the secret dealings of Hitler and the Pope I recommend you get a book titled: Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII, by John Cornwell)
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Christians, they love to talk about how loving, dutiful and compassionate they are, yet I have yet to meet ONE who does not practice hypocrisy to the highest degree. Their willful ignorance of the Bible combined with their two faced idealism to preach it, has made us sick, hasn’t it? For nearly two thousand years Biblicists have been lecturing people on the importance of adhering to the Bible’s teachings on ethics, manners, and morality. They quote Jesus and Paul profusely, with a liberal sprinkling of Old Testament moralism. The problem with their approach lies not only in an oft- noted failure to practice what they preach, but an equally pronounced tendency to ignore what the Bible itself, preaches. Christians practice what can only be described as “selective morality”. What they like, they cling to and shove down other’s throats; what they don’t like, they ignore vehemently. That which is palatable and acceptable is supposedly applicable to all; while that which is obnoxious, inconvenient, or self-denying is only applicable to those addressed 2,000 years ago. Their hypocrisy is so rampant that even the validity of calling oneself “Christian” is in question. I see so many people enjoy quoting the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and some of Paul’s sermons, but don’t even PRETEND to heed other, equally valid, maxims. I’ve mentioned pro-life and conservatism in other sermons. This one is going to sum up the rest of my beefs.
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10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.
9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.
8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.
7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!
6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.
5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.
4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."
3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.
2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.
1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.
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Quote: “A Catholic should strive to form their conscience according to God’s word and the Church”.
But the Archbishop desists from teaching the true faith in a clear manner or does not condemn sin. Moreover it seems that he has decided never to use the word “Sin”, and also made sure that it be struck off the dictionary for all members of his Curia.
Are the Church leaders seeking popularity?
In the circumstances, how can one be able to know what the Church teaches?
Donella Agius •
So according to this declaration, the Church has now officially abdicated its mission to lead the christian faithful. Conscience is not a new thing. Every person always had to follow his conscience. But of course, now it is clear that Mons Anton Gouder has sold his soul in order that he will not lose the chance of a career in the maltese Church, so that he may become an auxiliary bishop.
