Updated: SHout welcomes Bishop Charles Scicluna's position against spring hunting

The Church should not take a position on the spring hunting referendum, according to Apostolic Administrator Charles Scicluna, though he said he still had to discuss the issue with the Bishop of Gozo. Speaking on current affairs programme Dissett, he said he is personally opposed to hunting during the breeding season.  Mgr Scicluna also said there had been a drop in marriage annulment applications  since the introduction of divorce. Although at this stage it could not be officially confirmed that the drop in cases was the result of divorce legislation, he said the figures seemed to indicate more reluctance to marry in church and said more needed to be done to strengthen the institution of marriage. Mgr Scicluna also said that the new Commission for the Safeguarding of Children had passed on two cases of suspected clerical child to the police and was investigating a third.  He explained that cases did not always involve a crime, in that there could be cases involving consensual sex between adults. He explained that the commission examined every case before referring the matter to the police. He stressed that the main purpose of the commission is to promote a culture of prevention...