MICHAEL D HITS OUT AT THE VATICAN FOR ‘EXCLUSION’ OF HIS PREDECESSOR
PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins heavily criticised the Vatican’s exclusion of his predecessor Mary McAleese from speaking at a conference for Catholic women’s rights.
‘I was deeply concerned and upset at recent exclusions of her,’ Mr Higgins told RTÉ Radio 1 yesterday morning.
‘I think that she’s a very, very important person in speaking on matters that are her matters and so many people’s, matters of a spiritual significance but are in terms of the right to believe.’
The ‘Voices of Faith’ conference was originally scheduled to be held in the Vatican itself, but conservative Irishborn cardinal Kevin Farrell requested three LGBT rights campaigners, including former president Ms McAleese, be barred from speaking. Instead the conference was moved to another location in Rome. Mr Higgins said on Ryan Tubridy’s show: ‘One of the most important things that had to happen is removing exclusions. Exclusions from discourse, exclusions from thinking.
‘It’s just a healthier society when you have equality of participation. We’re not fully there yet, I think, in terms of the gap… in income, in relation to pensions.’
Ms McAleese is a devout Catholic, but has long advocated for gender equality and LGBT rights.
She yesterday described the Church as an ‘empire of misogyny’ as she called for women to be included in its decision-making.
She also said that a Church hierarchy that is ‘homophobic and anti-abortion is not the Church of the future’.