Archbishop Paul Cremona yesterday called family lawyer Deborah Schembri on her mobile to personally inform her she could resume representing clients on the Church’s Ecclesiastical Tribunal after an absence of six months.
Dr Schembri, who led the pro-divorce movement to a historic victory at the May 28 referendum, had been banned by the Church from serving on the tribunal after she was accused of spreading false doctrine on the indissolubility of marriage.
The tribunal had written to one of her clients informing her that Dr Schembri could no longer represent her “...because her views on the indissolubility of marriage are not in conformity with the laws of God and the Church”.
Contacted yesterday, Dr Schembri, a prospective Labour Party general election candidate, said the Archbishop told her he was “pleased to inform” her that “matters had been settled” and she could continue representing her clients on the Church tribunal. The matter had been referred to the Vatican.
She said Mgr Cremona apologised for the delay in informing her about the decision that had been taken to reinstate her, saying these matters took time. The Archbishop asked to meet her “for a friendly chat” on Monday evening at his residence in Attard.
“I am obviously happy but I have a lot of questions that still need to be answered. I would suppose they would send me a formal letter informing me about the reinstatement, the same way they did about my dismissal. I presume this letter would include the reasons for the reinstatement. It’s only natural that I expect this,” she said.
Dr Schembri became a household figure during the divorce referendum campaign.
She had only spilled the beans that she had been removed from the list of lawyers who could represent people filing annulment cases before the Church’s Ecclesiastical Tribunal weeks later when she was asked about her relationship with the tribunal.
She made the announcement about her reinstatement in a short note on her Facebook page, in which she thanked people for their support.
“I am very glad to announce I am once again taking Ecclesiastical Tribunal annulment cases after having been given the news this morning, by His Excellency the Archbishop, that I am reinstated in the Album of Ecclesiastical Advocates. Thank you all for your support throughout this ordeal. Much appreciated,” Dr Schembri wrote on her Facebook wall.
When contacted, she said she did not know and could not calculate how much work she had lost in the six months she spent banned from working on cases before the tribunal. The tribunal had written to all her clients informing them to look for another lawyer to represent them. “Everyone knew I was banned from appearing before the tribunal, so people just wouldn’t come to me. I cannot tell you how much work I lost but I obviously did. Now I’m back to work tomorrow (today) in an initial meeting on a new case,” she said.
The Labour Party welcomed the decision, saying Dr Schembri had been suspended because she was active in the Yes to Divorce campaign. It said the ecclesiastical authorities’ decision bodes well and is a sign of goodwill towards unity in Maltese society.