Former president Mary McAleese has challenged Irish bishops to acknowledge that the language used in the Vatican’s recent document on blessing gay unions is “gratuitously cruel in the extreme”. She has sent correspondence to the head of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Eamon Martin, seen by the Irish Independent. Read MoreOn Monday, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a formal response to the question of whether the Catholic Church can bless gay unions. Their courage is commendable.”“Is there any vestige of such episcopal courage here?” she challenged the Irish bishops. Foolishly I dared to hope the language might reflect a growing awareness of the damage Church language has already wrought,” the former head of state admits.

Source: Irish Independent March 18, 2021 16:40 UTC