The Catholic pro-divorce lobby group is baffled and aggrieved by theologian Fr René Camilleri’s “incorrect notion” that believers do not have the option of afree vote in Saturday’s divorcereferendum.

Kattoliċi: Iva Għax Dritt said it expected Fr Camilleri to be able to make a distinction between morally approving recourse to divorce, and granting citizens the right to divorce, which was what citizens were being asked to vote for on Saturday.

“We Catholics would indeed not have a free vote if the referendum had been about legitimising divorce morally or religiously. It seems that part of the ‘no’ lobby is consistently reiterating this inaccurate perception to continue impressing upon susceptible minds the dread that voting ‘yes’ will be a grave sin,” it said in a statement.

Reacting to Fr Camilleri’s talkat the Millennium Chapel in Paceville on Tuesday night, the lobby group expressed regret that “a theologian of the calibre of our brother Fr Camilleri” had joined this bandwagon.

“The forthcoming referendum is not about whether one is in favour or against divorce as such. It is about not imposing a particular moral code upon a heterogeneous population,” it added.

“We Catholics have every right to uphold our beliefs. We have every right to speak about them. What we have no right to do is to intimidate people with retribution if they vote yes.

“Nor do we have the right to expect the state to impose our morality upon all its citizens.On the contrary, we are obliged not to allow this. It is ourCatholic duty to vote ‘yes’ in the referendum.”