The Archbishop's Curia has, for the second time within a few days, flatly denied claims made in a blogpost by university professor Simon Mercieca.
The Ecclesiastical Tribunal said Mercieca had made false and harmful allegations when he asked in a blogpost on Tuesday whether the Curia would publish the marriage annulment decision involving former Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi as it had done with Alfred Sant's case, which he claimed was leaked to Daphne Caruana Galizia so that the then Labour leader could be humiliated.
"Had Professor Mercieca made the slightest attempt to verify his central allegation, he would have discovered that Dr Sant’s annulment case was a matter for the civil courts. It never came before the Ecclesiastical Tribunal. Therefore, his allegation that the Ecclesiastical Tribunal leaked details of Dr Sant’s case is false in its entirety. This fact is a matter of public record and easily ascertainable through a basic internet search," the Curia said.
It also observed that despite its previous clarification, Mercieca was repeating the falsity that the chancellor of the appeals tier of the Regional Ecclesiastical Tribunal doubles as the chancellor for the Metropolitan Tribunal of first instance.
"If he had carried out a simple Google search – or visited the Archdiocese of Malta website – he would have discovered that each division has a separate chancellor," the Curia said.
It also noted that Mercieca stated that Mgr Joseph Bajada, president of the Regional Tribunal of Second Instance, teaches at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Malta, and he questioned why the Archdiocese was not asking him to resign from that position.
"If Professor Mercieca had made any attempt to verify the contents of his statement, he would have discovered that Mgr Bajada did in fact retire from the Faculty at least six years ago," the Curia retorted.
"Professor Mercieca (also) alleges that Jason Azzopardi’s annulment case was “fast-tracked”. The reality is that it took almost five years to be determined when decisions in most cases are delivered within 18 months," it said.
The Curia stressed that proceedings before the Ecclesiastical Tribunal are strictly reserved for the parties concerned and their legal representatives, and it would not allow the reputation and integrity of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal, or that of the individuals within it, to be sullied by Mercieca’s false statements and allegations.
Mercieca in an update to his blogpost on Wednesday apologised for his mistake involving Alfred Sant's case, while insisting that the Curia should still publish its annulment decision involving Jason Azzopardi.
Last week, the Curia denied claims by Mercieca that Mgr Bajada influenced the decision to grant Azzopardi an annulment. It explained that Mgr Bajada presided only over appeals of the Regional Ecclesiastical Tribunal, which was separate and distinct from the Metropolitan Tribunal. He had no say in cases of first instance, such as Azzopardi’s.