Divorced from Political Reality: The New Limits of Ecclesiastical Power in Malta

Abstract

Divorce legislation was enacted in Malta in 2011 following a consultative referendum. Until then the biggest barrier to divorce had been the perceived influence of the Catholic Church, expressed not just in its presence in many spheres of public life, but in historical reminders of the political costs of challenging its status and doctrines. The process leading to the introduction of divorce showed: that the political parties still feared confronting the Church; that the Church itself had been losing ground as a politically coercive or persuasive force; and that the biggest challenge to its status and relevance was coming from below, as a result of people's changing attitudes and lifestyle. This contrasts starkly with the history of Church–State relations and its landmark political–religious conflicts, involving the ecclesiastical establishment on the one hand, and secularising political forces on the other. Retracing the history of political–religious strife, this paper seeks to evaluate the changing quantity and quality of ecclesiastical power in Malta, up to the point when the divorce question exposed its limits, though not its end.