Government party whip David Agius said he had been against the introduction of divorce and voted against its introduction in the referendum. However, he underlined he would respect the will of the majority because he was a Member of Parliament first, and a member of the PN second.

He said MPs were finding themselves in difficulty. He personally believed that without divorce society would be better off. But citizens had a right to decide, and MPs had a duty to follow the mandate given by the electorate.

Mr Agius referred to the Second Vatican Council and the local Synod. Quoting, he said that MPs needed to be honest people who worked with professionalism, which meant loyalty. While an MP had a right to express his Christian views, loyalty towards the electorate lead an MP to consider legislations for those non-Catholics.

In a pluralistic society, legislators were facing trends which went against their beliefs but they must, nonetheless, co-ordinate their duties as legislators with their religious belief.

With the divorce legislation, there was still the need to strengthen marriages, where education had to play a strong role. Family education and education for the family needed to be introduced, he said.

The PN had always emphasised nationalism and the importance of the catholic faith. He said that even though he was to vote in favour of the Divorce Bill, he would still stand for his beliefs. These ingredients, together with loyalty towards citizen’s viewpoints, had always been winning elements for the PN.

Mr Agius agreed with MPs Gino Cauchi and Francis Zammit Dimech that amendments needed to be carried introduced. He augured that the committee chaired by the Speaker would lead to proper debate and an occasion to truly create the best possible legislation.