In Chile, mixed reactions, slow response to new divorce law

Published: 2004-12-30

SANTIAGO, Chile (CNS) -- When Chile legalized divorce in mid-November, many expected a multitude of divorce cases to be filed. But in the first week after the law took effect, only 133 divorce suits were filed nationwide. For many, the conditions set forth by the new law are too complicated and the process too lengthy; for others, a divorce is too costly. Until the new law took effect, Chile was one of three countries, along with Malta and the Philippines, that did not allow divorce. Instead, married couples had to claim they provided false personal information at the time of their marriage in order to obtain a civil annulment. Court officials often accepted these reasons without question because no other alternative was available to end a marriage. The new legislation prohibits false annulments as a means for legal separation. In the months before the law was passed, the Catholic Church paid for television, radio and newspaper ads issuing warnings on the dangers of divorce, calling the legislation "a serious menace to the stability of marriage and the family."

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