Malta Today: MT survey Astounding 41% agree with same-sex marriage

60% of under-35s agree with same-sex marriages, overall support up by 13 points since 2007 survey.

http://maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/data/MaltaToday-survey-Astounding-41-agree-with-same-sex-marriage-20120530
Thursday 31 May 2012 - 08:15 by James Debono

The survey shows support for gay marriage increasing by 13 points since 2007, when the first MaltaToday survey on this issue was conducted.

60% of 18 to 34-year-olds agree with the introduction of marriage for same-sex couples, in a clear indication of a generation gap in values that finds just 23% of those over 55 years in similar agreement.

The survey shows support for gay marriage increasing by 13 points since 2007, when the first MaltaToday survey on this issue was conducted.

Times: Gays in God’s eyes (2)

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120530/letters/Gays-in-God-s-eyes-2-.421999
Wednesday, May 30, 2012 by Joseph A. Muscat, Ta' Xbiex

Every now and then we are regaled with an item of foreign news calculated to raise our spirit at this time of a tottering eurozone.

A recent press release proudly announced that the NHS in the UK would be funded for fertility/IVF services requested by gay and lesbian couples living in England and Wales.

This would mean a substantial increase in such services as artificial insemination donor, IVF involving surrogate mothers, sperm donations to lesbian couples, etc.,

The permutations and combinations of techniques used in assisted human reproduction are numerous and come at no mean cost to the state. The failure rate is not negligible nor should one set aside the anxieties suffered by the persons concerned.

All this is anathema to Catholic teaching

The great idea of a national health service is thus being seriously dehumanised and debased, a result of a misguided, totally secular concept of the state which excludes the existence of God.

It is a path that leads to self-destruction of what has been termed an over indulged behemoth, which the NHS is becoming.

We would do well to avoid going down the same road, one full of risk and peril of added human misery.

Times: Gays in God’s eyes (1)

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120530/letters/Gays-in-God-s-eyes-1-.421998
Wednesday, May 30, 2012 by Anthony R. Girard, Sliema

Every now and again, Jacqueline Calleja dreams up more dogmatic excerpts directed at homosexuals. Her latest epistle (May 23) catalogues more and more chapters and verse aimed at vilifying homosexuality and portraying homosexuals as perverts unworthy of God's love.

A few quotes from her latest diatribe, such as "... homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered..." (if I remember correctly Cardinal Ratzinger had declared this and the word he used at the time was evil and not disordered), are shockingly out of touch with what our Church believes today and I very much doubt whether His Holiness would use that same declaration today, having been elevated to the throne of St Peter.

Another: "... legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behaviour..." This is far from the truth. Homosexuality is not deviant and this has been recognised by the DSM IV, the "bible" (if Ms Calleja would excuse the pun!) of the psychological profession the world over.

It would be far, far better and more Christian were Ms Calleja to profess the love of Christ than to fling moral codes at fellow Catholics. If I remember correctly, it had been the Scribes and the Pharisees who used to shove these at the Lord's face when He was on his mission of love on this earth.

God has made every single one of us as His true image and likeness and if we dare criticise and object to even a fraction of God's handiwork, then we would be saying we know better than God... now that would really be intrinsically disordered.

Times: Attacks on the family

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120530/letters/Attacks-on-the-family.421996
Wednesday, May 30, 2012 by Ramon Casha, Qormi

Rarely have I seen such a vicious attack on the family as was reported recently coming from Gozo Bishop Mario Grech. In his attempt to redefine the word "family" to refer exclusively to his own preferred definition, he was attacking the families of all single parents and their children, all unmarried couples and their children, all childless couples, all same-sex couples with or without children.

In fact, since according to him, a necessary attribute of families is procreation between the couple, not even Joseph, Mary and Jesus were a family.

Could it be that while declaring that "nobody spoke directly against the family" he didn't realise that this is precisely what he was doing with his own words?

Independent: IVF and cohabitation bills - JPO lashes out

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=145062
29 May 2012  by Keith Micallef

PN backbencher Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando lashed out at the government for procrastinating to legislate for the introduction of IVF and a cohabitation bill including some form of legal recognition to same-sex unions.

Addressing the media, on the occasion marking the first anniversary of the divorce referendum in which the majority voted in favour of the introduction for this right, Dr Pullicino Orlando used harsh words for several members of Cabinet accusing them of buckling under the pressure of the ecclesiastical authorities.

The Nationalist MP, who in July 2010 had tabled the private members’ bill for the introduction of divorce, claimed that the Prime Minister had not kept his word as he had promised to introduce a law regarding IVF exactly a year ago. Regarding the cohabitation bill, he quoted Justice Minister Chris Said who had publicly said that the bill would be enacted by the beginning of next month.

Times: Government ‘appeasing’ Gozo Bishop on IVF, claims pro-divorce campaigner

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120529/local/Government-appeasing-Gozo-Bishop-on-IVF-claims-pro-divorce-campaigner.421767
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 by 

Kurt Sansone

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando: “Naprotechnology... is as if I were to give baked beans a new, fancy name.” Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has accused the government of pandering to the Church’s wishes by delaying legislation on in vitro fertilisation and instead championing natural family planning methods.

The political class should not pander to the threats of Bishop Grech

Producing a can of baked beans, the MP criticised Health Minister Joe Cassar and Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono for launching naprotechnology at the Gozo hospital as an alternative to IVF.

“Naprotechnology is simply a modern word to repackage the natural family planning method that people have used for ages. It is as if I were to give baked beans a new fancy name.”

Independent: Divorce referendum - one year later: 247 couples granted divorce so far

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=145045
28 May 2012  by Keith Micallef

247 couples have been granted divorce so far since the introduction of this civil right from 1 October last year, following the divorce referendum held exactly a year ago today.

In total there were 512 applications for divorce of which only 14 were from Gozo.

According to the statistics provided by the Justice Ministry, there were 94 requests from couples who made a joint bid after being granted legal separation. Another 350 requests were made from either the husband or wife making up couples who were already legally separated, while a further 38 requests were made from couples who are still in the process of separating.

Times: JPO hits out at absence of promised IVF and cohabitation laws

'Politicians are still pandering to the clergy'

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120528/local/jpo-hits-out-at-absence-of-promised-ivf-and-cohabitation-laws.421736
Monday, May 28, 2012, 16:00



Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando this afternoon hit out at the government for having failed to move promised legislation on IVF and cohabitation.

The political class, he said, should not pander to the wishes of the bishops.

Dr Pullicino Orlando was speaking at a press conference with Labour MP Evarist Bartolo and Labour candidate Deborah Schembri a year after the divorce referendum. The three had led the Yes campaign last year.

Di-ve: Pullicino Orlando attacks Government for failure to address IVF and cohabitation

http://www.di-ve.com/Default.aspx?ID=72&Action=1&NewsId=92628&newscategory=36&cache=false
by di-ve - editorial@di-ve.com
Local News -- 28 May 2012 -- 16:35CEST

Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando made a scathing attack this afternoon against Government for not keeping promises made to introduce free IVF treatment to all by the end of 2011 and by not having put forward for discussion the law giving rights to couples who are cohabitating.

The criticism by Dr Pullicino Orlando was made during a press conference called by Moviment IVAgħall-għażla, IVA għad-divorzju on the occasion of the first anniversary of the referendum held last year that led to the introduction of divorce in Malta.

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando said that unlike Minister for Health Joseph Cassar and Minister for Gozo Giovanna Debono, the Movement had not wasted the time of journalists to take them up to Gozo in announcing the introduction of naprotechnology in Gozo, a technology which he described as a repackaging of natural family planning.

Independent: Malta marks divorce referendum anniversary

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=144998 

Article published on 27 May 2012

Tomorrow, Malta marks the first anniversary of the historic 28 May 2011 Divorce Referendum, which saw the ‘Yes’ camp emerging victorious by a six point margin after a hard-fought five-week campaign for the introduction of divorce.

Since then, in the last year close to 500 divorce applications have been filed before the courts, and around half of those have been granted.

Tomorrow will see a reunion of the three people who drove the ‘Yes’ campaign to victory – Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Evarist Bartolo and Deborah Schembri at a press conference being convened to mark the date, in which they are expected to compare and contrast what had been claimed during the gloves-off campaign with what has really happened since then.

AD Chairperson Michael Briguglio was also a co-founder of the ‘Yes’ movement.