A senior judge has called for the creation of a national commission to tackle Britain's 'epidemic' of family breakdown.
Mr Justice Coleridge, a High Court (Family Division) judge, delivered his speech to the Family Holiday Association in Central London on 16 July 2009. He said the consequences of family breakdown for the wider society are now so disastrous it can no longer be treated as a purely private issue. He pointed out that the problems went too far and no one political party on its own could resolve them and only a national commission drawn from a wide constituency would have any chance of success. He suggested that such commission should establish marriage as the ‘gold standard’ for relationships and put an end to the constant games of ‘musical relationships’ or ‘pass the partner’, which can scar children for life.
‘What, I hope in all humility, I am drawing attention to is the endless game of 'musical relationships', or 'pass the partner', in which such a significant portion of the population is engaged, in the endless and futile quest for a perfect relationship which will be attained, it is supposed, by landing on the right chair or unwrapping a new and more exciting parcel,' he said.
'Although, superficially, these are private issues, they become matters of public concern when they are happening on such a huge scale and affect detrimentally such a significant proportion of the population of all types and ages.
'What is a matter of private concern when it is on a small scale becomes a matter of public concern when it reaches epidemic proportions. An epidemic is a matter of concern for us all, especially where so many children are infected by it’, Mr Justice Coleridge added.
He suggested that marriage is the better solution for society.
‘Marriage is by no means perfect or the only way or only structure for living with a partner, but statistically it has proved to be the most enduring and, statistically, the children of such relationships perform the best.
‘That is a simple, provable fact which has to be faced, however unpalatable to its detractors. Support for marriage therefore makes pragmatic common sense because it is demonstrably in the public interest and ultimately saves money’, he said.
Recent figures show that one in three marriages in the United Kingdom end in divorce and one in ten children live with cohabiting parents. Recent studies also show huge numbers of children living with a single parent.
At CCFON we believe that family is God-given and that we must make every effort to support it. Composed of persons made in God’s image, the family reflects something of God’s own relational self and creates the vehicle for the worship of God. The Bible includes an abundance of material affirming the highest view of the family as intended by God and where human live begins and are nurtured and shaped according to the Creator’s will. Society and those in authority must avoid a naive and simplistic approach to the family and make their best effort to support and encourage it as the basic social, economic and cultural aspect of our Civilisation.
Daily Telegraph
www.telegraph.co.uk/family/5561776/Family-breakdown-is-now-a-national-tragedy.html
The Times
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article6516159.ece
Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1193545/Only-marriage-mend-broken-Britain-says-judge.html
This is London
Press Association
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jsouatdTZZhnr7PvCH6hPkEvw7lQ