Seek right environment to improve marriage - Archbishop

People should ask themselves what they can do to improve the environment around them to make it more supportive towards marriage, Archbishop Paul Cremona yesterday said.

"Just like we are told that we can help save the planet by switching off unused lights or by not wasting water, we should ask ourselves what we can do to support marriage," Mgr Cremona said during a conference to mark marriage week.

Mgr Cremona was speaking during the conference entitled 'Trends in Maltese Families'.

Married couples found themselves in different environments that included the working environment and friends.

"So, the question is, are these work and friends environments conducive to helping married couples who may be going through a hard time?... This is not about politics but about what each individual can do to make the environment we live in more supportive towards marriage," the Archbishop said.

He added that couples who had a successful union should not look down on failed marriages but find ways to support those who do not have the fortune to experience the same type of marriage.

During yesterday's conference, organised by Proġett Impenn, representatives from the National Statistics Office quoted facts and figures from various past surveys with the aim of giving a picture of family realities in Malta.

In 2007, there were 2,479 marriages, 637 registered separations and 35 divorces filed abroad and registered in Malta. In 2008 there were 2,484 marriages, 519 registered separations and 31 locally registered divorces.

There were 167 annulments in 2007 and 188 in 2008.

Research showed that the average age for marriage currently stood at 32 for men and 29 for women. Births outside marriage amounted to 1,048 in 2008, of which 352 had an unregistered father.

The Curia's pro-vicar, Mgr Anton Gouder, said healthy marriages were beneficial for society and it did not pay anyone to introduce measures that threatened this stability.

Mgr Gouder quoted extensively from research abroad to argue that marriage was the best unit for society. Married couples tended to contribute more to society, he said, and the family environment was the best for the upbringing of children.

He added that while annulment, separation and divorce were all emotionally draining for the couple, one had to keep in mind that research showed that 20 per cent of divorces were prompted by divorce legislation.

He stressed that his observations were based on scientific surveys and he was not condemning those who did not fall within the categories he described.