A majority of readers replying to a timesofmalta poll have said that priests who disagreed with the recent bishops's letter on IVF were right to opt not to read it.

Of the nearly 5,500 respondents, 58% agreed that the priests could not do something they disagreed with.

35% said the vow of obedience should have been respected while 6% did not known.

A number of priests have publicly admitted to not reading out the letter because of their disagreement.

Church sources has confirmed to The Times that "many priests" were opposed to the "spirit" and the "wording" of the pastoral letter released just one day before the government published the long-awaited IVF Bill on July 26.

Among the parts deemed insensitive by priests was the paragraph saying "the Church steadfastly encourages couples not to concede to the temptation of taking easy solutions" by resorting to IVF.

Fr Rene Camilleri, a prominent theologian and the Archbishop's delegate on catechises, confirmed he was one of the priests who chose not to read this letter.

"I know many priests who took this decision but once you've asked I confirm I was one of them," he said.

Asked to explain his position, which goes against a directive issued by the Curia last week, Fr Camilleri said he felt some of the language used in the letter was offensive and lacked sensitivity.

The Times said that during informal preparatory meetings held at the Curia a few months ago, Gozo Bishop Mario Grech had disagreed with two theologians acting as consultants to the Archbishop recommending a softer approach on the matter.

The bishops' letter was approved by the Vatican before being read in churches in Gozo and Malta.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.