Church donated €180,000 to anti-divorce campaign

The Maltese archdiocese donated €180,000 to the anti-divorce movement for its campaign in the divorce referendum, Zwieg Bla Divorzju announced today.

The movement, which is the first to declare its finances for the referendum campaign, said it also received another €56,000 in contributions from various groups, families and individuals “of no political organisation but who wished to defend lifelong marriage.”

The Church effectively financed 75% of the anti-divorce campaign, confirming its frontline role in Zwieg Bla Divorzju. Chairperson Andre Camilleri said the biggest expense was on media activities, namely €70,000 on newspaper adverts, printing and video production. He said this expense was necessary because “most media had a position in favour of divorce. Many times we did not have the necessary space, and had to pay to send out our message that others were broadcasting for free.”

Camilleri thanked activists at a meeting organised yesterday to dissolve the group. He particularly thanked those who took part in public radio and TV debates. “They gave their support and most times they endured personal attacks,” Camilleri said.

Camilleri augured that a constructive parliamentary debate now takes place on the divorce bill that would reflect the popular will as expressed in the referendum – in which 53% voted in favour – “with a law that does the least harm to society, families and children.”

Camilleri had previously told The Times that Zwieg Bla Divorzju received “a lot of help from people who have certain political and religious beliefs” mainly from SMS donations. The Church offered the movement a parish to conduct its campaign, and Camilleri said the movement will publish what it spent and where it came from.

Apart from the Church’s public relations officer bolstering the anti-divorce campaign team, several other Church figures lent their support to the movement. Dr Anna Vella, the president of the Church’s marriage preparation organisation Cana Movement; TV presenter Joyce Cassar from the CAM production house of the Missionary Society of St Paul; and Fr Joe Borg, formerly the Archbishop’s delegate for social communication.

The Stock Exchange chairman and anti-divorce figurehead Arthur Galea Salomone, like Camilleri before him, is also a director of the board of APS Bank (Apostleship of Prayer Savings Bank), the Maltese archdiocese’s bank.

Additionally, the Church’s delegates teamed up with members of the Nationalist party and the government in their campaign. Anton Attard, the prime minister’s campaign manager in 2008, was consulted immediately at the start of the campaign. Misco pollster Lawrence Zammit and MITA chairman Claudio Grech, formerly head of minister Austin Gatt’s secretariat, had been assisting Zwieg Bla Divorzju’s campaign from the very start. Even the deputy Cabinet secretary Frans Borg – brother to Fr Joe Borg – took two months’ vacation leave to assist in the campaign.