Ex-President got no reply from Pope after conference row
MARY McAleese said she received no explanation from Pope Francis on why she had been barred from speaking at a Vatican conference.
Ms McAleese, who admitted “I never intended going to Rome to whisper”, was restricted from participating in the ‘Why Women Matter’ event. Organisers later moved the conference.
“I have received neither an acknowledgment of my letter nor a reply (from Pope Francis),” Ms McAleese told RTÉ Radio.
She said she had given a “factually accurate” view at the conference, including controversial comments that the Church was the “primary global carrier of the virus of misogyny”.
Yesterday she said: “The Church was (historically) not just a spiritual empire but a temporal empire.
“It depended on absolute monarchs, surrounded by deferential or obsequious courtiers, a huge citizenry, who were silent, passive and obedient – that’s factually accurate.”
She added that the Church had “conveniently” treated women “as second class”.
Ms McAleese felt “obliged” to utilise her “right and duty to address issues”, for the “good of the Church”.
As a long-time gay rights campaigner, she said the Catholic Church also had yet to welcome the LGBTQ community.
Her gay son, Justin, last summer married his long-term partner. “There was no (church) aisle unfortunately,” she said of the wedding. “It can’t happen in my church or the church Justin was raised in, which is a pity.
“But I never campaigned for that – we campaigned for civil marriage and I’m quite content with that.”
Though a Catholic, it didn’t mean she had to like everything Pope Francis said, she added.
“Pope Francis is not spontaneous, he’s more scattergun, which is disarming and lovely in some ways but we are beyond the point where scattergun and spontaneous will be enough.”
On the abortion referendum, Ms McAleese said: “The Savita Halappanavar case caused me great worry and concern.”
Although she had been in favour of the Eighth Amendment in the 1980s, she felt obstetricians had been “hamstrung” by the law. She said she has yet to make up her mind on how she will vote in the referendum.
“I’m in the situation of having to give it more consideration.” But she “absolutely will not be taking part in the campaign”.