Parliament should only account to social consequences - Peter Serracino Inglott

Former university rector Peter Serracino Inglott said this in reply to a question posed by newspaper Torċa where they asked if an MP voting in favour of divorce would be committing a sin: “One cannot say; it all depends on one’s conscience. My point is that the state cannot prohibit every single thing which is bad, because by doing so he would be removing the freedom of a person, which is the best gift which God has given him,” the priest answered.

He went on to say that the state should only prohibit those things where their social consequences could be devastating.  According to Serracino Inglott legislatures should consider whether divorce is morally good or not and what its social consequences are. “The question that the parliament should ask is whether permitting divorce consequences going to be less worse than those laws which prohibit it,” he said.

The reverend’s opinion is that this could be the case if more children are being born out of wedlock. “Presently, 20% of the kids being born are outside of marriage, where thousands of such children are being born to young women who have never got married.  Therefore divorce would not be solution for children born out of married life.”

Serracino Inglott is of the opinion that MPs should analyse the consequences of their choices and that result should be their choice. However, he goes on to say that at present, we do not have enough information to know analyse these consequences.  “For example, how many marriages will be disintegrated?” he asks.

According to it-Torċa, Serracino Inglott said that Archbishops Paul Cremona’s and Mons Anton Gouder’s position is one of judgement and not of doctrine. “Whether the Archbishop and Mons Gouder are right or wrong depends on judgement made upon social issues.”

 The divorce issue has been raised after Nationalist MP surprised everyone by presenting a private member's bill to legislate in favour of divorce.

Whilst Labour Party leader Joseph Muscat has once again sustained his position in favour of divorce and will be giving his MPs a free vote on the bill, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi seems to be inclining in favour of a referendum.

Interviewed by the Church’s Radio, Archbishop Paul Cremona said that Catholic MPs should vote against divorce.