Divorce referendum to be held this year, parliament debate may be held next month

Before take any decision they have to consider on public opinion.

The divorce issue should be decided upon in parliament by a secret vote of two-thirds and not spent more thousands which we dont have in our coffers! Why the hell did you take a raise of 500 euros?...so the people can decide for you dear Gonzi????????????????? Call a general election and tie the divorce issue wiith it and lets get this over with. You are the result of ucertainty in our country. Our nations image is suffering because of your lack of governance towards the people. The business is suffering because of your party's internal strife (and dont give me your stats, cause that is all bullshit). Dont be ridiculed any longer call a general election!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If Gatt resigns, we would have two victories, one for divorce and the other for getting rid of the arrogant bully!!!!!!!!!!!

Minn fommok 'l Alla, John2622. Alla maghna u nirbhu zgur fuq it-tahwid u t-tbaghbis ta' Agostino Gatt u l-qlafat shabu.

Tkun idea tajba kieku l-Prim Ministru jikkonsidra li jsejjah elezzjoni generali fl-istess jum li fih isir ir-referendum dwar id-divorzju! Is-sinjali hemm qeghdin: il-maggoranza assoluta tal-poplu Malti u Ghawdxi huwa mxebba' bil-politika tal-arroganza li miexi biha l-Gvern Nazzjonalista u jrid Gvern Laburista fl-iqsar zmien possibbli halli flimkien nibdew naraw lil pajjizna miexi 'l quddiem bhalma mexa 'l quddiem fis-sebghinijiet meta tela' Dom Mintoff wara snin twal ta' dlam Nazzjonalista!!

Stopping Concordats Until there's more public awareness of concordats, for most politicans fear of crossing the Vatican is going to weaken any desire to protecting the rights of their own electorate. What would have to happen for the [Polish] concordat to be renegotiated or broken? “The Church would, for example, have to break its terms drastically, but with such a small number of obligations towards the state, it is a purely hypothetical possibility. On the state side, there would need to be a major political desire to change the legal system. There has never been such a political desire, even when leftist groups were in power.” ― Prof. Pawel Borecki, Faculty of Religious Law, University of Warsaw The kings of the past sometimes found it easier to resist Vatican pressure than modern politicians, especially when they weren't themselves Catholic. Both the Protestant rulers of Northern Europe and the Russian Orthodox czar didn't hesitate to cancel concordats. And even the Catholic emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph I scrapped a concordat which conflicted with the new constitution. Communist governments routinely cancelled concordats without the sky falling in. For example, When Poland was included into the Soviet sphere of influence, the Interim Government of National Unity unilaterally terminated the Concordat in 1945. The 1952 Constitution separated church and state and proclaimed freedom of religion to be a civil right. (At the time it was remarked, “The Constitution is excellent ― a pity it's so rarely applied”.) As in the United States, the legal situation of the Church and its property were provided for in civil laws, rather than through a concordat. Democratic governments have also done this, as when the French National Assembly cancelled the concordat by breaking off diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1904. And as recently as 2006 the Slovakian foreign minister refused to sign a concordat. Of course, there was a price to pay for defying the Vatican: the Christian Democrats then left the governing coalition, and the Slovak Government fell. By contrast, the Czech concordat was stalled at the final stage. It had already been signed in 2002 when the folowing year the Czech Chamber of Deputies legislature rejected it. Now, however, the President who had opposed it is being courted by the Church and the outcome remains uncertain. Meanwhile in Venezuela, President Chavez, reacting to the political opposition of the Church, has threatened to scuttle the country's 1964 concordat. On those rare occasions where there's the political will to do so, actually getting rid of a concordat poses no problem. Concordat challenge quashed in Bavaria, but proceeds in Spain Concordats used to be politically untouchable. However, these pacts with the Vatican which have the force of international treaties have recently been challenged in court, even if not always successfully. Infallible blunders: Pius IX scuttles his own concordats Absolute monarchs have a certain social self-confidence when dealing with another absolute monarch, especially one like the pope who reigns over a pocket-sized kingdom a fraction the size of their own empires. Such was the case with both Alexander II of Russia (and Finland and Poland) and Franz Joseph I of Austria (and Hungary). They weren't afraid to cancel concordats. Concordats ended in Northern Europe The Protestant Reformation ended concordats in Northern Europe, yet some of these are still state churches and in Germany the main Protestant church even enjoys "church-state treaties" which resemble concordats without the international dimension. Presidential decree cancels concordat in Argentina In a single sentence the Argentine military bishop managed to both attack AIDS prevention by the present democratic government and even, by implication, laud the death squads of the former military junta. This revealing remark has made it politically possible to cancel a concordat — the “international treaty” by which the taxpayers provided the bishop’s salary. Warnings from the EU stall the Slovak concordat Human rights must trump Church doctrines, says report of European Union lawyers: medical professionals should not have an unlimited right to impose their beliefs on others by refusing to provide contraceptives, perform abortions, etc. — in cases where this effectively denied a patient access to a service or procedure which was allowed by law. It caused quite a stir in Slovakia when the EU experts said that this treaty with the Vatican could violate international human rights, and the concordat was put on ice.

Concordat Strategy For over 900 years concordats have been central to the Vatican's attempt to wrest power from the state. The pope made three bids to control England. After he failed to get William the Conqueror to swear fealty to him, and his legate got chased out when he tried to rule the country, the pope finally managed to get the Henry I to sign the first concordat in 1107. These agreements with the Vatican, giving it political and financial privileges, have now been concluded with dozens of countries, with more appearing every year. What are Concordats? These church-state accords often give the Church massive state subsidies and other privileges. They can also permit Church employees to be hounded about their private lives. Yet as “international treaties”, concordats bypass the democratic process, making parliaments powerless to modify, let alone revoke them. The Vatican’s triple crown: church, government and state “The Vatican is inserted into the international community because it is a state; once there, it behaves like a church.”[1] By setting up three legal identities and then adroitly switching from one to another, the Vatican has obtained unprecedented legal rights and international influence. This article has been translated into Portuguese. Vatican smokescreen on human rights The Vatican tries to quietly elevate Chuch doctrine above human rights. It has not signed some human rights treaties and in some others has made “reservations” which keep it from having to comply. This strategy gives the Church leverage, prevents it from being held accountable for priestly abuse, and protects its courts from charges that they violate the right to a fair trial. Concordats promote authoritarianism Authoritarianism concentrates power in one man or group. It tends not to remain at the top, but to pervade society at all levels. Blind obedience comes to be seen as the necessary glue for keeping society together, and it is applauded by the mini-dictators throughout such a society. However, as recent research shows, a lack of power is deeply damaging to the individual. The left gets a modus vivendi, the right a concordat Concordats have traditionally been made with rightwing governments, whether absolute monarchies or fascist dictatorships. However, only a quiet working arrangement has been made with authoritarian governments on the left, as these compete with the Church ideologically, rather than complementing it. Concordats help control women Concordats can be a powerful tool for social control. These Vatican “treaties” can prohibit divorce, get a woman fired for remarrying or even deny her access to sex education and family planning. Concordats help keep women married and bearing children for the Church. Yet studies have shown that most Catholics worldwide disagree with many key Vatican doctrines — as do many priests. Quotes on concordats Quotes from popes, prelates, lawyers and historians give a lively look at Vatican concordats from many different points of view. Concordat agenda, 1075: the “Papal dictation” This internal Vatican memo was dictated by Gregory VII near the beginning of his papacy. It sets an agenda for increasing papal power, and underlies the pope's demand that William the Conqueror pay him fealty. The English king's refusal helped shift the power struggle from outright Vatican sovereignty of Christian nations to Vatican control over their bishops, (the “investiture controversy”), and led to the earliest concordats. Perspectives: The Second Coming of papal politics Christoph Prantner of Der Standard offers this view from Austria, which has long experience of Church involvement in politics. The debate about Islam, he says, is also reviving political Catholicism. In Madrid, Paris and Rome the boundaries between church and state are becoming blurred, raising the danger of a return to theological politics. Canon Law This Canon (or Church) Law is the Christian counterpart to (Jewish) Halakha, Hindu Law and Sharia. Concordats enable the Roman Catholic version of Canon Law to influence the lives of Church employees and those who must rely on Church-administered social service agencies.... Canon Law can trump clerics' civil rights A Swiss priest was forbidden to research or publish anything about Opus Dei until its founder was safely canonised. A Polish priest was banned from investigating or writing anything about clerical complicity with the Communist Secret Service. And countless others who never make it into the newspapers suffer the same fate. For they are bound by Canon Law, the Church regulations whose jurisdiction is guaranteed by many concordats.

Concordats, human rights and separation of church and state What are concordats? Concordats are international treaties with the Vatican that may range from granting little more than diplomatic recognition to a legally binding commitment to observe key aspects of Vatican doctrine and to subsidise it in various ways. There has been much criticism of concordats. Concordats help enforce Canon Law, the Vatican version of Sharia Under Canon Law wife beating is no ground for divorce — in fact, nothing is. Therefore if you've been married in a Catholic Church, which means under Canon Law, you may find that a concordat has deprived you of your right to a civil divorce. The Dominican concordat (1954, Article 15.2) says explicitly that people married in a Catholic church, and therefore under Canon Law, may never file for a divorce. So, too, did the Portuguese concordat concluded with Salazar (1940, Article 24). At least in those countries divorce remained legal, even if one had to leave the Church to get one. However, divorce was impossible under both the Italian concordat with Mussolini (1929, Art. 34) and the Spanish one with Franco, (1953, Art. 23-25). It is still impossible in Malta, and the 1993 Marriage Concordat ensures that it will remain so. In a separate development the Pope issued a decree in December 2009 which could serve to tighten up concordat marriage by eliminating a loophole used by those who had left the Church in order to get a civil divorce. This had freed Catholics who had “formally defected” from the Church from its regulations, that is, from Canon Law. “This [meant] that a defecting Catholic could validly be married in a civil ceremony, for example, without a dispensation.” Now, however, that clause has been eliminated: “All Catholics are bound by canonical form in marrying, period.” Including those who consider themselves ex-Catholics. Countries whose marriage laws closely mirror Canon Law will now be under pressure to conform to this decree and prevent even ex-Catholics from ever getting a divorce. Other concordat clauses enforce Canon Law on the employees of Church-run institutions, even though these are funded by the state. For example, the concordat with Hitler (1933, Article 24) is used to this day to fire teachers in Catholic schoolsif they remarry after a civil divorce or even if they marry someone who has done this. Through these intimidated Church employees, concordats can be used to enforce Canon Law on the general public. The Slovak “conscience concordat” would have prevented doctors in Church-run hospitals from performing abortions or nurses from giving out information about family planning, since it gave them the “right” to claim that this went against their religious conscience. And, of course, if they didn't exercise this “right” to impose Canon Law on others, they'd lose their jobs. In a rural area where the only hospital may be Church-run, this can effectively limit access to what are in Slovakia perfectly legal services. At this point legal experts appointed by the European Union put their foot down. They stated firmly that denying access to such services, Canon Law or no Canon Law, was a violation of international Human Rights. Maltese marriage concordat (1993) This microstate off the coast of Sicily may well have more concordats per head than any other country in the world. Its history explains this. In 1530 the islands were given to the Knights of Malta in perpetual fiefdom in exchange for an annual fee of a single Maltese falcon. A century later the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta was awarded equality with a cardinal. He was henceforth addressed not just as "Your Majesty", like a king or "Your Eminence" like a cardinal, but as "Your Most Eminent Highness" — a title which showed the seamless unity of church and state in Malta. Even today, church and state are intertwined: Catholicism is the state religion (as it is in three other tiny European states: Lichtenstein, Monaco and San Marino). Malta's Constitution enshrines this in Article 2: 1.The religion of Malta is the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion. 2.The authorities of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church have the duty and the right to teach which principles are right and which are wrong. 3.Religious teaching of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Faith shall be provided in all State schools as part of compulsory education. HONORABLE PRIME MINISTER DR.LAWRENCE GONZI what are you going to do with this concordat? let's see the debate now in parlament, i am sre all the world will geting the information about what's going to happen

Easy, guys, easy. The "Honorable" in Gatt's case is simply a technical word. But you have to respect it. It brings with it certain privileges, for instance, Honorables may say anything they want inside Parliament even mention you by name attributing or ascribing to your person any implication, direct or indirect, they wish. And you have no right to answer. If you do you can be hauled before the House and charged with contempt of the same House. When the Honorable ceases be Honorable you will be free to challenge him even on the pavements of St Paul Street and he will have to answer like any other person you could meet on the same street. Entre nous, that is what the undersigned is waiting for. Logically and consistently with the foregoing, the undersigned must remain "undersigned" until the Honorable Gatt remains in office. When he is no longer that, the undersigned will carry out his intentions shedding also the "undersigned" designation. Then we shall see what the currently Honorable Gatt will have to say as a post-Honorable common Joe Bloggs.

The PN continues to show its contempt for Parliament by announcing important decisions like the holdoing of a referendum in a party organ instead of in Parliament. Malta has become an "illiberal xdemocracy".

Does the country meaning us tax payers afford a referendum expense? Why did you take your salary rises to cushion yourselves on the benches shouldering responsibility on our expense. Parliament should decide with a secret vote gaining a majority of 2/3rds of parliament. Discuss and conclude that's why the MP's are paid for.

This "bunga bunga" morality of some of our ministers is incredible!

what is your problem austin gatt?? what is it to you against divorce? what have you against divorce? what is the real reason? does it effect personally you? maybe you , your children or relatives can get what you want no need for divorce law right? hmmmmm and if you resign from parlament? so what? you think the parlament needs you or better Malta needs you? or you need the parlament and yoru ministry title? BUT I THINK YOU ARE FULLY EHH WITH THE MINISTRY TITLE YOU HAD ALL THESE YEARS! NOW ITS TIME TO RESIGN AND GO FULLY RELAXED, WITH ALL THE YEARS YOU BEEN IN MINISTRY EHHH. LIKE YOUR FRIEND EDDIE FENECH ADAMI A PRIME MINISTER AND THAN A PRESIDENT SO MUCH MONEY ,.PFFTT DISGUSTING - I REMEMBER A BOOK I READ- ANIMAL FARM-

Austin has given us another reason to be pro-divorce. Between the two evils - i choose divorce over Austin. Hey Austin, you seem to be bringing up resigning a lot these days. Gege ready to step in or you want a shot at brussels? Maybe you just want to spend your money out of spot light.

Meanwhile, transport minister Austin Gatt has threatened to resign from parliament if the PN resolves in favour of divorce, sparking new internal unrest inside the PN. GOOD RIDDANCE