The conference has been held at the Vatican on International Women's Day - celebrated on 8 March, since 2014.

The list of potential speakers at the conference required approval from a cardinal. Mrs McAleese and two other nominees (neither of whom have been named) were not granted permission to participate.

Their attendance was opposed by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.

No reasons were given, according to Chantal Götz, managing director of Voices of Faith. However, she notes McAleese has been outspoken on gay rights and women's ordination.

As a result of the Vatican decision, Götz says organisers have changed the conference venue.

It will now be held outside the Vatican, so will not require Vatican approval for choosing speakers and panel members.

The organisers have also changed the name of the conference to "Why Women Matter", and have invited McAleese to attend as a keynote speaker.

She had previously been asked to take part in a panel discussion at the event.

McAleese, who has studied for a doctorate in canon law at the Gregorian University in Rome, has written to Pope Francis about the situation.

She says she will not make any further comment on the matter as she is waiting to see if the pope responds to her letter.

The conference brings together Catholic women from across the globe to share their experiences and create dialogue with leaders on gender equality, inclusion and leadership.

It is seeking to convince the Vatican that women "have the expertise, skills and gifts to play a full leadership role in the church".

The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, says neither he nor his office were consulted by the Vatican in relation to the list of speakers for the event.

Source

• Brinkwire
• Irish Times
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: The Telegraph

In a homily in his pro-cathedral, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said the Church "should be active and present in society, drawing attention to suffering and repression of any kind and being alongside those who suffer".

He suggested that the Catholic Church in Ireland today has "again become too timid in bringing its liberating voice to the ‘demons' of Irish society.

"Scandals within the Church and perhaps a lack of real faith have made us all too timid in bringing the voice of Jesus and his Church to the basic issues of Irish society.

"We are tempted to succumb to the widespread opinion that Christianity is really something private and personal for our own devotion and inspiration and not something that has its relevance in the public square."

Archbishop Martin, who held several Vatican posts before becoming Archbishop of Dublin in 2004, said: "It is not that Christians want to impose their views on others. It is more a challenging question for believers to find ways of presenting and witnessing to the Christian vision in terms which can win over and be respected by those alongside whom we work.

"Each of us is called to ensure that our being a Christian somehow brings an added quality to the way we live and to the contribution we bring to society, through how we live our Christian lives in family, in community and in society and indeed into the complex world of science and economics, of politics and communication."

Referring to the instructions Jesus gave his apostles for their missionary journey, he commented: "The vision they present is the very opposite to a consumerist-driven rushing for the non-essential and the almost divinisation of the superfluous and the transient in life, which in the long term leads to emptiness."

Source:

Iona Institute

Image: Alpha