‘Marriage still not accorded respect it merits’ – Archbishop on divorce

Archbishop Paul Cremona told the Vatican Press Agency young Catholics were not giving marriage its due importance, a year since the introduction of divorce to Malta.

Cremona, who this week visited Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, said the value of marriage was the central concern when asked whether the victory of the yes vote in 2011's divorce referendum had changed the family in Malta.

"Marriage and family are not accorded the respect they deserve, even among young Catholics. The majority still prefer a religious marriage, but the couples that are separating are still increasing: until now we've seen some 400 cases of divorce," Cremona said.

The archbishop said the Maltese church will be reflecting on the state of the family in 2013 "in a bid to see what God wants for this society we are living in. We hope this reflection takes us to a more objective level, more realistic for the times we live in."

The Maltese church will also be participating in the Vatican's Synod on the new evangelisation in October. "We have to try and find ways of attracting people to an experience of the Christ, within the Church," Cremona said.

The archbishop also called for more national solidarity to the plight of asylum seekers and refugees in Malta.

"As long as they are sojourned in Malta, as Christians we must do all that is possible, especially giving them work and respecting them as God does," Cremona said.

"There are still problems that must resolved, for example, the issue of detention. The fact is that many of these asylum seekers do not want to stay in Malta but are looking to travel further into Australia or the United States. So they are in Malta, waiting for a better life in a new country."