‘He knew death was imminent, he was unafraid' – Mary McAleese pays tribute to courage of Pope Francis on Easter Sunday
'When the balcony curtains opened at the end of the Easter Sunday Mass, we saw a very sick and very determined man. His face very bloated, his voice a hoarse whisper, his arm barely able to be raised in blessing,' she highlighted.
However, she added that the blessing was in 'his being there on the day of the Resurrection', and that the blessing was also in his 'touring endlessly around the crowd, expending his last breaths in last smiles of encouragement and pastoral care.'
The former head of state said the Argentinian pontiff knew he was supposed to rest but he didn't.
'He knew death was imminent. He was unafraid. He believed in life after death. He wanted us to believe in it too and to be unafraid.'
Discussing Pope Francis' legacy after 12 years at the helm of the global Catholic Church, she said he 'leaves more leaven than legacy, more things undone than done, and an internal existential mess still to be addressed by his successor, perhaps with the help of synodality or perhaps not. Time will tell.'
But she added that the world had heard his voice in defence of immigrants, the poor, the abused, the marginalised, the forgotten, the oppressed, the victims of war, the care for the earth, and above all hope.
'A good man who did what he did. It was less than he could, but more than his predecessors back to John XXIII,' she said.
Noting that Pope Francis died in the job and on the job, she said his legacy would be vigorously debated even as his coffin was being prepared and speculation about his successor mounted.
She paid tribute to Francis' exercise of moral power in his insistence on the sacredness of human life, the sacredness of the earth and his promotion of interfaith dialogue, notably his joint promulgation with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad el-Tayeb of the 2019 Abu Dhabi Declaration on Human Fraternity.
Evaluating Francis' papacy, and his contribution to internal reform to avert the collapse of the Church in the Western world, she highlighted his promotion of synodality, and how many felt he had opened up Church governance to women, and that he was a pope who did not judge homosexuals and had made efforts to promote greater protection of children within the Church.
However, she felt he had not substantially changed the Church's magisterial teaching and therefore his legacy was ultimately 'a flip-flop, perplexing legacy'.
She also lamented the glacial pace of reform in 'outdated teachings' on priestly celibacy, human sexuality, human reproduction, access to the sacraments and the systemic exclusion of women from ordination.
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Irish Times
21 hours ago
- Irish Times
How have the first 100 days of Pope Leo's papacy gone?
A week after he was elected 267th pontiff, Pope Leo XIV gathered the world's ambassadors to the Holy See in the Vatican 's richly marbled Clementine Hall. The aim of the Catholic Church 's international outreach, he said, was 'peace'. Peace requires 'carefully choosing our words', he told the diplomats. 'For words too, not only weapons, can wound and even kill.' Cautious communications have defined the first three months of Pope Leo's papacy and represent the clearest shift from his predecessor Pope Francis , whose casual style and off-the-cuff remarks endeared him to many but could also cause division and controversy. 'Pope Leo is more of a mediator,' says Saverio Gaeta, a Vaticanologist and author of biographies of both popes. 'Francis was less diplomatic. He didn't always moderate his words.' READ MORE By making few headlines in his first three months, Leo has defied the old received wisdom that it would be impossible to have a pope from the United States because he would be a media magnet, his words constantly interpreted as commentary on political events in Washington. 'The pope who emerged from the conclave was not the most 'papabile' [likely candidate], but is the pope who brings together the different strands of the church,' says Father Fabio Nardelli, OFM, a lecturer at two pontifical universities in Rome. 'He has emphasised unity.' It was Francis who elevated Robert Francis Prevost, as he was then known, into high church office. In advance of this year's conclave he was seen as someone from the Argentine's camp, and since his election Leo's public addresses have indeed been peppered with fond references to his predecessor. However, from the first moments of his papacy Leo has also quietly resumed traditions that Francis had shirked, reassuring conservatives. In a critical article, former president Mary McAleese this week took issue with his attitude toward women and same-sex marriage, along other things. After the white smoke signalled his election on May 8th, Leo appeared on the balcony over St Peter's Square dressed in a red mozzetta, a traditional elbow-length cape. It was a garment Francis had dispensed with, preferring to wear simply a white cassock, part of his dislike for pomp. In this time of epochal change, the Holy See cannot fail to make its voice heard in the face of the many imbalances and injustices that lead, not least, to unworthy working conditions and increasingly fragmented and conflict-ridden societies — Pope Leo Leo also resumed the tradition of escaping the Roman heat to spend a holiday at Castel Gandolfo, the lakeside town that has hosted popes for centuries and where townsfolk delightedly greeted the return of a pontiff after a 12-year hiatus. Where Francis famously chose to live in the Casa Santa Marta guesthouse in Vatican City, Leo is expected to take up residence in the traditional papal rooms of the Apostolic Palace, which is being renovated in anticipation of his arrival. There, he will have a private diningroom, chapel, library, study, and bedroom beside the famous window where popes deliver the Sunday Angelus. Leo's appointments – and to a certain extent access to him – will be managed by a personal secretary within the papal quarters, another tradition that Francis had dispensed with. It's a return to the more formal Vatican structure of the past. 'Living in Santa Marta, Francis would bump into people in the lift, on the stairs, in the courtyard, and he exchanged words with some of them. Some gave him their opinions and suggestions,' Gaeta recalls, describing the confusion that would ensue among fellow Vaticanologists as they sought to clarify remarks Francis had been purported to say. 'The fact that there wasn't a filter allowed him to say things that sometimes went too far, and caused problems,' he adds. 'Leo is returning to what was normality before.' Pope Leo XIV waves as he arrives to lead his weekly general audience in St Peter's square at the Vatican. Photograph: Maria Grazia Picciarella/Middle East Images via AFP One camp Leo has gently reached out to is the Curia, the Vatican's internal bureaucracy. Whereas Francis openly chastised the officials, accusing them of gossiping, rivalry, and seeking worldly profit, Leo used his first meeting with them to thank them for their work as custodians of the 'historical memory' of the church. 'Popes pass; the Curia remains,' Leo flattered them. [ Pope tells crowd of one million young Catholics 'a different world is possible' Opens in new window ] His first words as Pope spoke of building bridges; in a seven-minute address, he used the word 'peace' seven times. The choice of 'Leo' as his name sent a message from the offset that Prevost intended to act as a steadying hand. The last Pope Leo reigned at the turn of the 20th century and is remembered for advocating a middle way at a time of revolutionary change, opposing both unfettered capitalism and radical socialism while advocating for workers' rights. 'His was a time of schisms. His leadership guided the boat of St Peter on to calmer seas,' Nardelli says. The new Pope has said he was thinking particularly of Rerum Novarum, a work by the prior Leo that is considered the foundation of modern Catholic social doctrine. He told cardinals in May that the church needed to respond to a new technology-led industrial revolution that had occurred, referring in particular to artificial intelligence . 'In this time of epochal change, the Holy See cannot fail to make its voice heard in the face of the many imbalances and injustices that lead, not least, to unworthy working conditions and increasingly fragmented and conflict-ridden societies,' Leo said. [ Inside the conclave: how a quiet American became pope Opens in new window ] 'Every effort should be made to overcome the global inequalities – between opulence and destitution – that are carving deep divides between continents, countries and even within individual societies.' Artificial intelligence has emerged as an early theme of his papacy and it is expected to feature in his first papal encyclical, a document setting out guidance on Catholic teaching. Leo is believed to be using his time at Castel Gandolfo, where he has few public appointments, to work on the text. Traditionally, a pope's first encyclical lays out a roadmap for the papacy ahead, and Leo's is expected to address the centrality of Christ, the church's missionary role – and how the global church, in all its diversity, can remain unified. As a US cardinal, Prevost was keenly aware that Francis's papacy had in some quarters been controversial. In the US, some conservative factions had taken to openly criticising and challenging Francis's teachings. In an address to an Illinois parish in 2024, Prevost defended the pontiff as someone chosen by the Holy Spirit who was truly trying to live out the words of the gospel. 'Francis is not afraid to rock the boat a bit, to shake things up, and when he does that there are people who are uncomfortable,' he told the churchgoers. 'I do think that some things he says and does are not understood by everyone.' In the same talk, Prevost displayed a wariness of speaking freely in public himself, telling the audience that his work of appointing bishops could involve 'politics'. Pope Leo meets President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina in the Vatican after his inauguration ceremony mass in May. Photograph: Vatican/Maxwells 'If I get into this, I don't know if I'm being livestreamed but it can be dangerous ...' he trailed off. Asked for his best stories about Pope Francis, whom he knew for decades, he replied humorously: 'The best stories I can't tell here, but if you catch me in the parking lot, maybe one or two.' For all his caution in public appearances, there are indications that Leo is not the aloof figure that some popes were in the past. In June, he took on his personal secretary in a game of tennis in the grounds of his old Augustinian order, according to its current prior general Father Alejandro Moral, an old friend. Moral also disclosed that the Pope remains an avid user of WhatsApp, responding to messages at three in the morning. Father Ángel Peña, pastor of the Parish of St Martin of Tours, in Leo's old diocese of Chiclayo, told a Vatican News documentary that he used to get birthday messages each year on May 10th from the man he knew as 'Padre Roberto'. When Leo became pope on May 8th, he assumed he would no longer have time. 'Suddenly at five in the afternoon here in Peru a message arrived from Cardinal Prevost, now Pope: 'Happy birthday Ángel. God bless you,'' the priest said. 'I kept looking at the message to see if it was real.' Leo used English to put international journalists at ease at an early gathering after his election, with a self-deprecating quip wondering whether they would still be awake at the end of his speech. [ Pope Leo calls for release of Gena Heraty and eight others kidnapped in Haiti Opens in new window ] Yet although he is arguably the first pope to be a native speaker of English – at least since the election of Adrian in 1154, who would have spoken Middle English – Leo's use of the global lingua franca has been somewhat sparse. Italian is the language he has used for most messages of substance since he became Bishop of Rome, along with some use of the Spanish of his adopted Peru. English appears to be Pope Leo's diplomatic language, used in meetings with international visitors like US vice-president JD Vance and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy , but not often in public addresses. Some Vatican watchers have wondered whether limiting his use of English in this way is a deliberate choice that has helped him keep a low profile, given the greater scrutiny such declarations could bring. 'I think Leo will contribute to peace around the world, but will also bring some pacification within the church, in areas where there have been difficulties,' says Gaeta, the Vaticanologist. 'They are already beginning to be reconciled.'
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
Letters: Joanna Donnelly's case shows the problem with bureaucracy
As someone who worked and managed in the public sector, my own experience is of a constant battle by innovative people frustrated by controls used by conservative managers. Many of our civil service and public sector organisations perform well, but this conservatism has grown in recent years, partly because of the often public humiliation of managers who released control and then it backfired. RTÉ, An Garda Síochána and charities are examples of organisations that and must be answerable to the public, but they also need to be innovative and responsive. The Government would do well to stop public humiliations of senior staff of organisations at public hearings. The temptation for TDs to showboat at the expense of managers who may have made mistakes but are not guilty of crimes is irresistible. So the Government should think about the damage these public inquiries do in organisations, which respond naturally by increasing bureaucracy to ensure they do not face such an onslaught. This does not serve the public well in the long run. Kevin Kelly, Bettystown, Co Meath History demands we take action on Gaza Madam — I sympathise most profoundly with Naoise Dolan ('I've fasted, protested and donated for Gaza — none of it is enough', August 10). Those with the power to stop Israel refuse to do so. The rest of us can march, write and plead, but it is all to no avail. What I find appalling is the acquiescence of the West in what is happening. I used to consider the West to have certain immutable values to which I could subscribe, but now? For years we have been hearing criticisms of China, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran and various other states for their perceived failings. However, the need to support Israel has permeated the Western consciousness so much that leaders have allowed it a free hand to do what it wants. Even now, with all independent observers calling the present activity genocide, many refuse to acknowledge the facts before their eyes and decline to put any worthwhile pressure on Israel. In other words, genocide is acceptable if it is yours friends who are doing it. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more The fact that the EU refuses to look at the EU-Israel Trade Agreement is utterly shameful. I fully understand the Irish Government's caution in dealing with the Occupied Territories Bill, and, if it is enacted, we would undoubtedly take an economic hit, with some people losing their jobs. However, our history demands that we take this action irrespective of what others think. Let others stand by if they must. Of the Palestinians, I am reminded of a line from a lovely Co Derry song: 'from calamity and famine may heaven defend them' Certainly nobody else will. Anthony Hanrahan, Salruck, Renvyle, Co Galway Netanyahu is sowing seeds of new Hamas Madam — In relation to the article by Tsela Rubel ('There is a sense that the world has minimised the horror of October 7', August 10), I understand why she and many other Israelis may be confused, as the true horror of what the Netanyahu regime is inflicting on the people of Gaza has yet to be revealed. While I can understand prime minister Netanyahu's desire to disarm Hamas, I believe his tactics are breeding a new Hamas, under a different name, among those children who are suffering today. Martin Tully, Skerries, Co Dublin What if Celts did the same as Zionists? Madam — On the subject of Zionism and the lesson given to me by Jason Fitzharris about its supposedly legitimate plantations in historical Palestine (Letters, August 107), perhaps Celts should develop an ideology of Celtism to advocate regaining the lands taken from them by Anglo-Saxons in the fifth and sixth centuries in what is now called England. Daltún Ó Ceallaigh, Rathmines, Dublin 6 Loyal service must count for something Madam — I have never met Joanna Donnelly, but she sounds like a brave, honest and hard-working woman. The details of why she left her dream job are ridiculous. It seems that Joanna, an independent, educated and well-respected woman, 'was not entitled to make a decision, without permission, in the best interest of the office and my colleagues'. How are women supposed to strive for better if this is the situation after 30 years of dedicated and loyal service? Thank you, Joanna, for sharing your story as promised. I am so sorry for all the stress and trauma you endured, and I wish you all the best with your many future enjoyable and creative endeavours. Gabrielle Gourlie, Wexford Avoid looking back in anger, Joanna Madam — Having read Joanna Donnelly's article about her experience as a civil servant, I would like to offer her some advice. She made the right decision to leave the job, but now needs to avoid looking back in anger. The power imbalance is so embedded that any individual effort to effect change is doomed to fail. Grace O'Reilly, Roscommon Children's safety in sport is paramount Madam — Ken Foxe's article about Sport Ireland's consultation on trans women's participation in female sport ('Sports bodies feared loss of funding over transgender review', August 10) reminded me of an incident that happened when my son played rugby. Our opponents had a player who was not only huge, but highly mobile. Our backs were swatted like flies. A number of injuries resulted from the impacts — broken bones and concussion. The opposing coach was asked to prove the youngster involved was in the appropriate age group. He was. Even in defined age groups, the physical difference can be immense. The difference between biological females and males is a chasm. The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) banned trans women and girls over the age of 12 from playing female contact rugby in 2022. At the time, managing solicitor Sinéad Lucey of Free Legal Advice Centres said: 'The IRFU is subject to the Equal Status Acts, which prohibit discrimination — including differences in treatment on the basis that someone is transgender.' She added that 'the IRFU receives significant financial support from the State. It is imperative that the Government… ensure that such organisations comply with equality law....' The survey by Sports Ireland shows that individuals and sports organisations feel they have the Sword of Damocles hanging over them, not only in terms of financial penalties and the legal ramifications, but personal ignominy. They clearly do not think the Government has their back. Children's safety in sport, not financial or legal implications, should be the only concern. Andy Hales, Kenmare, Co Kerry Colm O'Rourke has to explain himself Madam — Colm O'Rourke's answer to the split season is to do away with the provincial championships, while also having a jibe at the Ulster championship, which we are all used to from him ('There must be a better way to run split season, Sport, August 101). This comes from a man whose previous answer to Dublin's dominance was to split the county in two and so create more county matches. Explain. Martin McAreavey, Co Antrim Ideology is behind education reforms Madam — Enda Cullen (Letters, August 10) states that what's shifting isn't ideology, but the global educational environment. But what is causing the global educational environment to shift? It's ideology, namely the influence of critical social justice theory and specifically critical pedagogy in modern education. This is evident in the trend of many young people seeing everything through the lens of 'oppressor' and 'oppressed' and not in terms of class, but in terms of every other possible form of 'identity'. Many parents who are in their 40s and 50s and consider themselves liberal will recognise the confusion of realising that their once reasonable and progressive views are now considered problematic by their children, (and maybe even 'far right' in the wider world) and how there is only one acceptable viewpoint on a range of topics, with no questioning allowed. It's all part of the same shift. Education must be about providing children with facts and teaching them how to think, not what to think. E Bolger, Dublin 9 Ciara Kelly sent me to the dictionary Madam — Female authors and journalists frequently send me to the dictionary to find the meanings of words I don't understand. The exception was Ciara Kelly, until last Sunday, when she forced me to look up the acronym 'IYKYK'. If you don't know, you can look it up yourself. I'm not telling you. Mattie Lennon, Blessington, Co Wicklow Show zero tolerance to attacks on Indians Madam — It is very disturbing to read about and listen to the racist trauma being visited upon our Indian community. Having to postpone their India Day event scheduled for today at Farmleigh House reflects a troubling drift in Irish society in how we deal with neighbours of a different heritage. In very recent times, I have more than once been calmed and encouraged by an Indian anaesthetist as she put me to 'sleep' in a Dublin operating theatre. On each of these visits, I have woke up to the reassuring and caring voice of an Indian nurse. Inevitably, the day will come when a loved one or an older family member of the perpetrators of these increasing racist attacks will be very grateful to hear a soothing and supportive Indian voice. I wish the agitators would realise that now. In the meantime, there must be zero tolerance of their nastiness. Michael Gannon, St Thomas Square, Kilkenny Our Indian friends deserve support Madam — As Azmia Riaz reports ('This kind of racism used to shock us, but now we've come to expect it', August 10), the recent unprovoked attacks on Indian citizens in Ireland is shocking. As a healthcare worker, I appreciate the contribution my Indian nurse colleagues make each day. I believe we need to go further than be merely shocked by these attacks by a racist minority. I hope we can actively show solidarity to our Indian community by speaking up for them when ill-informed comments are made, or offer to take our Indian neighbours out for a coffee. Frank Browne, Templeogue, Dublin 16 Neutrality does not rest on triple lock Madam — What a surprise to see your letter of the week (August 10) from Edward Horgan regarding Irish neutrality. Once more a platform is given to Sinn Féin falsehoods about conscription. The biggest falsehood of all is linking the triple lock to neutrality. They are separate issues. The triple lock allows foreign governments such as those of Russia, China and the other permanent members of the UN Security Council to dictate to us, a sovereign nation, where we may send our armed forces and the numbers we may send to aid in the protection of our country and continent. The removal of the UN Security Council mandate would not affect our neutrality one iota because any deployment of our troops would still require the approval of the Government and the Dáil. Brendan Hogan, Kilmore, Co Wexford Let soldiers refuse to serve overseas Madam — I agree with Edward Horgan when he says: 'Like the majority of Irish citizens, I believe that active Irish neutrality is by far the best way to protect the best interests and security of the Irish people.' I also contend that not only should the triple lock be retained, but we should repeal the provision in the Irish Defence (Amendment) Act of 2006 that allows Irish soldiers to be sent on a wide variety of overseas missions whether they wish to or not. Irish soldiers should not be commanded to serve abroad if they have conscientious objections to shooting designated perceived foes in faraway countries. Joe Terry, Blarney, Co Cork Cricket may not be as English as all that Madam — As an Irish nationalist, I have always loved cricket ('Sinn Féin's cricket test: get unionists on side with an all-island success story', August 10). On the so-called Tebbit test, I have always cheered for England in cricket, unless they were playing Ireland. With so many English friends, my affection for them outweighs any prejudice I might have. Sam McBride's advocacy for cricket is welcome, though I would add that the old Irish game of catty was surely its forerunner — a reminder that this 'quintessentially English' sport may, in fact, be an Irish export. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh Drew Harris was unfairly treated Madam — Shane Ross in his column ('I have a few words of advice for the new top cop in town', August 3) hits the nail on head in many ways. I fear that much of the hostility against outgoing commissioner Drew Harris arose from the fact that he is a former member of the PSNI and a northern Presbyterian — in other words, an 'outsider'. If this type of opposition to external appointees applied across the board, we would never have had Mary McAleese as president or Gabriel Makhlouf as governor of our Central Bank. If this is a harbinger of what 'the other tradition' might expect in a united Ireland, I am fearful. We must all thank Mr Harris for his service and wish him well in his retirement.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Never heard of St Phoebe? Here's why
The Catholic Church 's annual opportunity to ignore the history of women deacons comes again this September 3rd, the Feast of St Phoebe, Deacon of the Church at Cenchrea. Never heard of her? That's because in 1969, the church calendar moved St Gregory the Great's formal feast day from his date of death (March 12th) to the date he was elected pope, conveniently enough, September 3rd, overshadowing her. Conveniently, because Gregory is the preacher who passed along the falsehood that St Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. You cannot make this up. Now it is worse. Angry journalists, bloggers, and even bishops are spreading even more false information about the history of, and the possibility for the restoration of, the tradition of ordaining women as Catholic deacons. Relying on translated copies of a 43-year-old book on the topic, they posit that no woman was ever ordained deacon in the history of the church, despite the author's admission that, because there are many missing historical documents, no final determination is possible. So, what is the problem? Several assertions float about attempting to cut off the Synod on Synodality's magisterially mandated conversations about restoring the practice of ordaining women as deacons. They fall into two main categories: 1) women cannot 'image' Christ, and 2) holy orders cannot be divided. READ MORE The most startling objection is that women cannot image Christ, and therefore that they are not made in the image and likeness of God. Yet, the consoling fact of the incarnation is that God became human in the person of Jesus Christ. Obviously, the understanding of anyone representing Christ today does not depend on sexual differences. To say women cannot represent Christ – cannot be signs of Christ in and for the church – is to deny their full humanity. The assertion sends a terrible signal to the rest of the world, especially to parts of the world where women are second-class chattel, living dominated by a male family member, unable to vote, drive a car, attend school or even decide whom they might marry. Saying that women can image Christ does not deny gender distinctions or argue for anything other than Catholic teaching: we are all made in the image and likeness of God. To limit that ability due to what scholars call 'naive physicalism' is to deny the extraordinary fact of the resurrection, and the Catholic teaching that Christ lives in all Christians. As the discussion about women deacons reignited during the Second Vatican Council, the theory of the 'unicity of orders' arose. The false argument that because women cannot be ordained priests, they cannot be ordained as deacons has now gained new traction, even within the Vatican. Even Pope Francis presented a version of it in a television interview less than a year before he died. When an American reporter asked if a young girl would be able to think about becoming a deacon, he gave a resounding 'no' to a deacon within holy orders. Why? He did not explain, but as so many other non-specialists do, he reverted to speaking about all the wonderful things women can accomplish while not ordained. Importantly, though, he did not state women could not be ordained as deacons, just that he did not think they would. The Catholic Church's three major orders – the diaconate, the priesthood and the episcopate – have a long development trajectory, but one order does not necessarily imply the other. The diaconate is an interesting case in point. St Paul's Letter to the Romans (57 CE) presents the first, and only, mention of a deacon by title in all of scripture. Her name is Phoebe, and she was included in the church's official list of saints, the Roman Martyrology, at its inception. Paul introduces her to the nascent church in Rome as a deacon and asks the Romans to welcome and, importantly, respect her. It is understood that she carried the letter to Rome and interpreted its theology for these new Christians. Later, the Acts of the Apostles (70-90 CE) recounts the election of seven others by the community at the request of the apostles. They are not given the title 'deacon', despite their designated task to assist with the distribution of food to widows. This event comes well after the death and resurrection of Christ, making the diaconate a creation of the church. But it is Phoebe who is first named and first known, directly, as a deacon. Why is she not welcomed and respected by the church today? Phyllis Zagano is an expert on the diaconate of women. She holds a research appointment at Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, and is the author, most recently, of Just Church: Catholic Social Teaching, Synodality, and Women (Paulist Press).
