Archbishop Charles Scicluna yesterday strongly reaffirmed the Church’s opposition to embryo freezing and gay marriage but said the door should remain open to divorced couples.

The Archbishop was delivering a homily at Ta’ Ġieżu church in Rabat on the same day that bishops from around the world, including Gozo Bishop Mario Grech, met in Rome for a three-week synod on the family.

The synod is expected to include keen debate between conservative and progressive voices within the Church on topics ranging from the prevalence of divorce to same-sex relationships.

In his homily, Mgr Scicluna focused largely on embryo freezing, reiterating his stance that it violated the dignity of the unborn. He called on the country to safeguard the value of life from conception, “even in the laboratory”.

Embryo freezing was banned by the previous administration but the present Labour government has declared it will go ahead with plans to introduce it.

“An embryo is a new life ready to be born and which we have the duty to welcome,” Mgr Scicluna said. “If we had a say when we were embryos, would we have consented to being frozen or ripped apart for research?”

The Archbishop repeated the Church’s stand that marriage “remains a union between one man and one woman, exclusively and permanently”.

“God created man and woman for them to become one body through which He could give mankind the gift of children and a future for humanity,” he said.

The statement comes amid fresh controversy on the Church’s position on gay issues after a Vatican official was dismissed last week after coming out as gay and calling for a change in Catholic teaching on homosexuality.

Mgr Scicluna also referred to those Catholics whose marriages break down. He pointed to a change in canon law, initiated by Pope Francis, which would simplify the procedure for annulment, including changes to the nature of the evidence required. In certain circumstances, under the new procedures, bishops may also decide themselves, in a shorter period of time, on the nullity of the marriage.

“Our doors remain open to everyone, even to those whose marriage has failed and have found a new future with a different partner,” Mgr Scicluna said. “We accept them as children of the Church and as our brothers and sisters.”

However, on the question of divorced and remarried couples, which is expected to be the subject of intense debate at the Vatican synod, Mgr Scicluna admitted the Church did not yet have an appropriate response.

“For people who have been through trauma in their marriage and started a new life, our door remains open but we have no easy solution, except to offer our support and refrain from judgement,” he said.

The Archbishop ended his sermon with a word of praise for the Ursuline Sisters, who he said were doing valuable work in giving children the love and dignity they deserved from a young age.

The activity was part of a campaign to raise funds for the Ursuline Sisters children’s home at Angela House, Pietà.