I was, to say the least, shocked upon hearing the news that pro-divorce activist Dr Deborah Schembri got her licence to represent clients asking for an annulment in front of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal suspended for “spreading false doctrine on the indissolubility of marriage”.

This would have been acceptable had Dr Schembri been campaigning in favour of acknowledging the termination of a Catholic marriage, but this is definitely not the case. All that Dr Schembri and the Yes Movement want is that Maltese state law calls a spade a spade and recognises that some marriages simply didn’t work. This will have absolutely no effect on Catholic marriages which is the area in which Dr Schembri had been working.

I would also like to take the opportunity to give praise and show admiration towards Dr Schembri who put her own job in jeopardy to fight for the basic civil right of having the state recognise that a marriage has failed for those people unfortunate enough who come to need it.

Robert Callus

Spokesperson on Migration and Citizenship

Alternattiva Demokratika