Judicial vicar banned Schembri for 'well-known position in favour of divorce'

Updated with comments from Deborah Schembri and Chamber of Advocates president at 5:24pm.

The pro divorce movement’s chairperson Dr Deborah Schembri had her licenciate to represent clients in the Ecclesiastical Tribunal for marriage annulments withdrawn by the Judicial Vicar over her activism to introduce divorce.

In a letter addressed to her clients, the tribunal's chancellor said she had been instructed by the Judicial Vicar Mgr Arthur Said Pullicino, that "because of the well-known position taken by your advocate in favour of divorce, [Schembri] is not in a position to represent you as an advocate before this tribunal since her views on the indissolubility of marriage are not in conformity with the law of God and the church."

Schembri said that subsequently, the Judicial Vicar had informed her in another letter that “her right to operate in the Catholic tribunal had been withdrawn because she was spreading false doctrine on the indissolubility of marriage.”

Judicial Vicar Mgr Arthur Said Pullicino told MaltaToday he had personally taken the decision to remove Dr Schembri from office, and that this was in line with Canon Law - which regulates the suitability of lawyers to appear for parties in the Ecclesiastical Tribunals.

"I didn't 'remove' her from office. She excluded herself from the very start of the campaign in her public propaganda in favour of the introduction divorce," Said Pullicino said. "Canon law specifies that you must be a catholic and of good repute. As soon as she went public on divorce, I informed her clients that she was not suitable to appear for them."

But Schembri said Said Pullicino’s reason was specifically related to her political activism. "Nowhere in the letter was it mentioned that I am not a catholic or not of good repute."

Schembri argued that as a professional, she has made a distinction between her representation of spouses seeking marriage annulments, and her activism for the introduction of civil divorce.

“I publicly made it clear that church marriage was a sacrament before God and that the bond was indissoluble. The church is not making this distinction with me.

“There are church tribunals all over the world in countries where divorce has existed for over 200 years – does the church ban lawyers who represent clients in divorce proceedings? They want to shut me up, clearly.”

The president of the Chamber of Advocates Dr Reuben Balzan said he was not in a position to comment about whether the decision has been taken in good faith or not.

"However I would like to point out that every citizen is entitled to be represented by a lawyer of his or her choice. The right of freedom of choice of lawyer should not be limited in any way, especially since decisions taken by the Ecclesiastical Tribunal are legally recognised and therefore produce full civil effects. Furthermore lawyers, like any other citizen, are entitled to freedom of thought and expression."

Schembri said she spoke with Archbishop Paul Cremona who told her he would lobby with the judicial vicar to have the decision overturned or ‘downgraded’ to a temporary suspension. “Nothing has happened since then. I was not contacted on any developments.”

Said Pullicino told MaltaToday that Archbishop Cremona had said nothing to him about this decision. "He can't not agree... this is canon law."

Dr Schembri said it is unclear whether her right to practice in the tribunal has been indefinitely suspended, adding that this 'ban' will most certainly affect her income. "They know exactly where to hit hard," she said.

She said the reason why she hadn’t spoken about it before was because she didn’t want it to overshadow the divorce debate. “This issue puts paid to the anti-divorce camp’s claims of bullying… it’s the last straw that broke the back.”

Mgr Arthur Said Pullicino had already called on members of the bar in a homily marking the forensic year to desist on divorce proceedings, and called on lawyers and judges to be ‘conscientious objectors’. The former president of the Chamber of Advocates, Andrew Borg Cardona, had branded Mgr Said Pullicino’s comments as “an unacceptable interference of the Church in secular matters.”

The tribunal hears cases of marriage annulments and is awarded supremacy over the Maltese courts thanks to the controversial 1992 Church-State agreement. Effectively, when spouses commence proceedings in the ecclesiastical tribunal, this stays any proceeding they may have started in the civil courts for a civil annulment; additionally, the ecclesiastical tribunal’s decision has to be adopted by the civil courts.

Lawyers representing clients in the tribunal must be licensed by the Catholic Church to appear in the tribunals.

When contacted for his reaction by MaltaToday, Zwieg Bla Divorzju chairperson Andre Camilleri declined to comment. “I do not involve myself in these issues while I am at work,” he said, directing questions to the movement’s spokesperson.

Movement spokesperson Kevin Papagiorcopulo however declined to give a verbal comment on the phone when contacted by MaltaToday. “I do not give comments off the cuff,” he said, insisting that he be sent questions by email.

Additional reporting by Matthew Vella