Mary McAleese, the former president of Ireland, has appealed to the Pope after being barred from giving a talk at the Vatican.
The speech was reportedly blocked by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the American head of the new super-dicastery for the laity, family and life, because of her opposition to Church teaching on homosexuality.
Mrs McAleese, who has said she is “ashamed” of the Church’s teaching, was due to speak at a conference entitled “Why Women Matter” at the headquarters of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences.
Chantal Götz, director of the Voices of Faith conference, said the list of speakers required approval from Cardinal Farrell. He withheld approval, she said, for Mrs McAleese and Ssenfuka Juanita Warry, a Ugandan gay rights’ campaigner.
Ms Götz opted to change location rather than cancel speakers. The event will now be held at the Jesuit Curia in Rome.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin distanced himself from the Vatican decision. A statement said: “Neither Archbishop Martin nor his offices were consulted by the Vatican in relation to this matter.”
The row came as the Vatican faced criticism for removing pictures of same-sex couples from leaflets for the World Meeting of Families in Dublin in August.
Ireland’s Association of Priests said the action, and the McAleese ban, were “unacceptable”. Cardinal Farrell’s office is in charge of organising the families summit.
Mrs McAleese told the Tablet she would not comment on the matter as she was waiting for the Pope to reply to her letter.
The Dublin-born Cardinal Farrell was named a Vatican prefect in 2016.
Australian law would label Catholics as ‘foreign agents’
Australian bishops have said that proposed new legislation could require priests, and potentially any Catholic involved in advocacy, to register as a “foreign agent” of the Vatican.
Bishop Robert McGuckin of Toowoomba told a parliamentary committee: “Catholics are followers of Jesus Christ. We are not agents of a foreign government.”
Although the law contains an exemption for religious groups, the draft bill also states that the Church is affiliated with the Vatican.
The proposed bill would require those who act for foreign powers to reveal their status on a new register, or face criminal charges.
“I want to be clear in rejecting the characterisation of the Catholic Church found in the explanatory memorandum,” Bishop McGuckin told parliament.
“It seems that every Catholic involved in advocacy may need to register and report”, he said, adding: “We don’t believe that is the intention of the bill.”
The bishop’s comments were heard at the beginning of a two-day hearing on the legislation. One senior MP has said Australia is experiencing “unprecedented levels of espionage and foreign interference”.
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