Archbishop bucks ‘divorce in camouflage’

MANILA— Call it by any name but it’s still divorce.

The head of the Catholic Church’s marriage tribunal said Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s push for legalized dissolution of failed marriages is tantamount to legalizing divorce in the country.

“The dissolution of marriage is when the marriage bond is rendered ineffective. That is divorce whatever you call it, in camouflage,” said Archbishop Oscar Cruz of the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal.

“The Speaker does not seem to know what he is talking about. What he proposes, on purpose, he says that it is not divorce. Then what is it? The rationale is that it will be easy for parties to separate,” he said.

Alvarez had recently hinted that he would propose a measure for the dissolution of unhappy marriages.

Under his bill, he said that parties will be allowed to jointly petition a court for the dissolution of their marriage.

But the archbishop warned against disregarding the welfare of the children if it would be easier for couples to get separated.

“What about the children? Will the children clap their hands once their parents find it easy to separate?” Cruz said. “The first victims of annulment, separation, or divorce are the children.”

Other than the Vatican, the Philippines is now the only country in the world where divorce is illegal. CBCPNews