Santiago, Chile — This is the only country in the Western Hemisphere that still prohibits divorce. But, after a 120-year battle, Chile is on the threshold of approving a law to change that, even though the result may carry so many qualifications and preconditions that the process of ending a marriage could become even more complex.<\/p>\n
Opponents, led by the Roman Catholic Church and its allies in the main right-wing party in this nation of 15 million people, are fighting to have the bill include compulsory mediation, waiting periods of up to five years and no possibility of divorce unless both partners want it. In the name of human rights and family values, they are also demanding that couples be allowed to choose marriage with a “no divorce” option. <\/p>\n
…”What should not be done is to opt for solutions that imply the destruction of the notion of the family,” Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz, the archbishop of Santiago, wrote in a pastoral letter called “Let No Man Tear Asunder,” issued in June. “Many countries have done precisely that,” he added, but “their experience demonstrates that introducing divorce is not the right road.”<\/p>\n
Those in the U.S. who decry Chile not having divorce laws are crack addicts sitting in a crack house complaining about other countries that don’t have accessible crack houses. Is our country really so blind to the repercussions of the destructions of families? Where there is no stability for children or spouses and their life could be upturned at any time for any reason.<\/p>\n