I am not qualified to pass judgment on what Mgr Arthur Said Pullicino said about sin and divorce, particularly with regard to judges and lawyers. However, last week’s Catholic Herald reported that “conscientious objection is recognised as a fundamental human right in international law.”

The UK weekly prominently reported that “members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe not only soundly rejected a resolution to strip medical professionals of their right to opt out of abortions but they also comprehensively rewrote the proposals that amount to a defence of conscientious objection.”

Now, I ask: if doctors have a fundamental human right to act according to their conscience and refuse to perform an abortion, do judges, lawyers and others not have the same right to refuse to get involved in divorce proceedings should divorce be legalised in Malta?