The people of Malta have voted by referendum to legalize divorce. This is the last small country in Europe where divorce was still forbidden. Currently, the Maltese can legally separated, but it is very difficult to remarry because we must first cancel the wedding, a lengthy process - it usually takes about eight years - and complicated.
Voters were asked "Iva" (yes) or "Le" (not) the question: "Are you prepared to offer the possibility of divorce for married couples who are separated for four years when there is no reasonable probability of reconciliation and when the well-being of children is assured? " The official results should be known only in the evening, but the Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who had fiercely campaigned against the introduction of divorce legislation, acknowledged the defeat of the "no" to the referendum on Saturday.
"This is not the result I wanted, but the will of the people must be respected," he said. Result of the poll which was purely advisory, "Parliament has to prepare a law" authorizing specific divorce, he added. It's an assumption now possible because the Nationalist Party (Christian Democrat and Conservative) party has only a slim majority - one seat - the Maltese House of Representatives and one of its MPs defended the " yes.
Excluding the Vatican, micro-state ruled by the pope, Malta, Member of the European Union since 2004, is the only country in Europe to ban divorce. In the rest of the world, there remains little more than the Philippines to be in this situation, Chile has been one of the last to legalize it in 2004.
Officially, the Catholic Church did not campaign, but the Archdiocese of Valletta has thrown its weight behind a warning letter to parishioners that voters must "choose between building and destroy" family values. Testimonies were also state priests threatened to deny communion to those of their flock who voted "yes." In Malta, Catholics represent 95% of the population and there are nearly a church km2. 
Voters were asked "Iva" (yes) or "Le" (not) the question: "Are you prepared to offer the possibility of divorce for married couples who are separated for four years when there is no reasonable probability of reconciliation and when the well-being of children is assured? " The official results should be known only in the evening, but the Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who had fiercely campaigned against the introduction of divorce legislation, acknowledged the defeat of the "no" to the referendum on Saturday.
"This is not the result I wanted, but the will of the people must be respected," he said. Result of the poll which was purely advisory, "Parliament has to prepare a law" authorizing specific divorce, he added. It's an assumption now possible because the Nationalist Party (Christian Democrat and Conservative) party has only a slim majority - one seat - the Maltese House of Representatives and one of its MPs defended the " yes.
Excluding the Vatican, micro-state ruled by the pope, Malta, Member of the European Union since 2004, is the only country in Europe to ban divorce. In the rest of the world, there remains little more than the Philippines to be in this situation, Chile has been one of the last to legalize it in 2004.
Officially, the Catholic Church did not campaign, but the Archdiocese of Valletta has thrown its weight behind a warning letter to parishioners that voters must "choose between building and destroy" family values. Testimonies were also state priests threatened to deny communion to those of their flock who voted "yes." In Malta, Catholics represent 95% of the population and there are nearly a church km2.
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