Catholic Church Battles Divorce in Chile

Having lost a divorce vote in Ireland, the Roman Catholic Church is making its next stand in Chile.

The South American nation does not ban divorce per se, but has no law permitting a legal end to marriage. Some legislators want to change that, and church leaders promise a hard fight to keep things the way they are.

As Irish voters approved the legalization of divorce by a razor-thin margin in November, the group of congressmen--both Catholic and non-Catholic and representing a wide political spectrum--introduced a bill to make divorce legal in Chile.

*

Currently, couples whose marriages do not work can separate through what everybody admits is a fraud: They claim before a judge that the government office where their wedding took place was not in the home district of the husband or wife.

Since Chilean law requires that a couple marry in the district office of one of the parties, a marriage outside the district is technically illegal.

Thus, if a husband and wife who want to split up present testimony from two witnesses who say the couple’s wedding was performed outside of the home districts, a judge must annul the marriage.

Critics say this kind of separation leaves children without legal protections, as the offspring of two unmarried people.

An estimated 500,000 couples have broken marriages this way and 300,000 have remarried.

Sponsors of the divorce bill say the current subterfuge s a stain on the legal system.

“What we have now is a fraud which forces everyone to lie--the spouses, the judge, the so-called witnesses,” says Ignacio Walker, a Christian Democratic congressman. “This has to be changed.”

The Catholic Church agrees that the fraud should end, but in a way that prevents divorce in any guise.

“Just give marriage officers authority to officiate throughout the country,” says Msgr. Javier Prado, secretary-general of the Chilean bishops conference. “You don’t correct an evil with another evil.”

He says the church opposes divorce laws “because statistics everywhere show that when a divorce law is passed, the rate of divorce grows steeply--it doubles.”

Conservative legislators also oppose allowing divorce.

While agreeing that something has to be done, congressman Andres Chadwick, head of the Chamber of Deputies committee where the proposal will be debated, says that “a divorce law is not the solution.”

He suggests Congress consider “a way to legalize the situation of couples who, after separating, have remarried.”

“If they have remained together, say, five years, have shown stability, have had children, we should then extend some kind of legal recognition to their union,” Chadwick says.

But the original marriage would still be legally valid, he says.

Walker retorts: “That would be like extending legal recognition to adultery.”

He contends his bill would make getting a divorce more difficult than an annulment is now. It would force couples wanting to divorce to go through a supervised reconciliation attempt, and no divorce would be granted unless the couple lived apart for at least two years.

The government so far has not taken sides in what could be a bruising political fight.

*

Bishop Jorge Medina, a leading conservative churchman, vows to wage “total war” against the bill.

Walker and his supporters say they do not want “a holy war,” but rather seek dialogue with the church.

Prospects for the bill are uncertain.

Sponsors of the bill express optimism about the bill’s chances in the Chamber of Deputies. But they concede they face a tough road in the Senate, where conservatives appointed by the former military regime have strong influence.

The church agrees. “I don’t know about the Chamber of Deputies. I know the Senate will not approve it,” Prado says.