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COSTA RICA
Rise in divorce rate
Bishops cite immaturity and selfishness
The alarming rise in the number of divorces in Catholic Costa Rica is a consequence of growing immaturity and selfishness, according to Father Jose Rafael Quiros, head of the Ecclesiastic Tribunal in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital city.
Father Quiros was asked by the newspaper La Nacion to comment on the results of the latest national census. According to official figures, one out of four marriages end in divorce. In only six years, the number of divorces in Costa Rica, with a population of 3.5 million, doubled, from 3,385 in 1994 to 6,949 last year. Moreover, at the same time, the number of marriages has gone down slightly. Father Quiros said, “Divorce certainly has many different causes, but it is very frequent to find either immaturity or selfishness at the bottom of it.”
“Because of our discard-after-use culture, many couples come to the judge or even the priest with the alternative of divorce in their minds,” said the priest. “Thus, they don’t have the willingness to fight for their marriage, to overcome difficulties and keep the relationship alive and growing.”
“No wonder so many couples are now opting only for civil marriage, because they can undo the relationship easily,” he added.
According to official figures, for the first time Costa Rica is having more civil than religious weddings. In June 1999, there were 7,285 civil marriages and only 5,770 religious ones.
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