Cardinal Law told Mary McAleese he was ‘sorry for Catholic Ireland to have you as President’

She was so right to show this arrogant man up for what he really is. He should have gotten a stiffer punishment for his handling of abuse cases in his Diocese. That was the story that broke open the depth of pedophilia in the Catholic Church. He also was the one who had the audacity to try and get the Sisters in the USA slammed for doing Social Justice for the marginalized. Luckily it all backfired on the Vatican and clergy involved! Mary McAleese is a very intelligent and educated woman. She could beat him in any argument of Canon Law as well as every other Law issue.

@Gearoid4: I appreciate the point you are making Gearoid but when Cardinal Law lectured President McAleese about the Catholic Church's rules he did so from a very weak position having broken the very selectively himself. If a member of the RCC accepts the organization's position on female clerics I do not intend to criticize them but the act of that evil man lecturing a Head of State about her position is repugnant. It would be like an Parish Priest in Montana lecturing the Premier of Quebec on resource conservation.

Why is it that articles like this fail to shock or surprise me any more? The chutzpah, the arrogance of this man! Clericalism - the abuse of power and authority is still very much alive in the RCC. I especially agree with the following statements of the former Irish president Mary McAleese: Speaking ahead of her book launch in Rome, McAleese also said Irish bishops got their handling of abusive priests ‘glaringly wrong’. She attributed this to ‘utterly atrocious advice and lack of training’. She added: “The Irish bishops were regrettably in thrall to a few canon lawyers whose views held sway. “The advice seems to have been to ignore canon law and ignore civil law. Sister Maureen Paul Turlish Advocate for Victim/Survivors & Legislative Reform New Castle, DE, USA

Jeez! Mary McAleese should have guessed the intellect of her attacker. His initials are BF!

One can sympathize with the situation that Mary McAleese found herself in, pertaining to the arrogant and condescending lecture that she received from Cardinal Law, without having to agree with her views regarding such issues as male-only priesthood. It would be a pity that one would have to bring up the terrible scandal of child-abuse to use as a weapon to hit those who happen to agree with the Church position with integrity and firmness of belief.

Bernard Francis Law should have been denied his status and title in the Catholic church, as soon as his coverup of the child abuse scandals in Boston were revealed! This man is a loose cannon of pomposity beyond comprehension! Where, oh where is the Light of Christ in this servant of God's life? Snuffed out I'm afraid by illusions of grandeur. Give it up, Bernard Law!

So glad I gave you the chance to get on your podium again WoundedKnee - perhaps you can go to the UN and argue that Ireland is not a Sovereign Nation - or at the EU or anywhere else you can contrive in your 'cleverer-than-all-the-rest' mind. When your definition(whatever it is) of Sovereign Nation' is accepted legally then I'll accept it too. Her salary is irrelevant to the issue between her and Cardinal Break the Law.

And I am sure it came as a complete shock to McAleese that she was out of step with the Church. Cardinal Law had it right.

As I have posted on a number of occasions here, Bernard Law should be returned to the USA to stand trial for his participation in cover-ups, concealment and facilitation of Child RAPE!!! This cruel, foul, sad excuse of a human, should be tried by a jury of his peers! It is an absolute disgrace that Holy Mother Church continues to hide this animal. Of course, he is not the only one in hiding in the Vatican. Unfortunately there are way too many. "Cardinal" William Levada (the former head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the man who attacked our American Sisters) is another one of these criminals hiding out.

RichardP: "a Sovereign Nation".... Are you crazy? Ireland a sovereign nation? Haven't you been reading the news for the past few years? And how about McAleese's pension--maybe a quarter a million a year? For 14 years "work". Not bad, eh? Gives her plenty opportunity to spout off garbage.

Cardinal is a guy playing dress up, covering up the criminal acts of his fellow employees in an organization that creates fears among millions in order to lead them into thrall with an organization that cares little for real Christianity. @Phlutie: You think McAleese is the problem here? What colour is the sky in your world? One of the participants as the Head of State (albeit more ceremonial than functional) of a Sovereign Nation; the other was a regional manager of an organization which has conspired in criminal acts by its staff and condoned the unspeakable suffering inflicted on thousand - millions over the centuries.

His Holiness Herr Ratzinger, and his Knights of the Round Table like Pedo enabler Law basically threw the RC Church and laity under the bus to preserve the hierarchy. Consequently, the Criminal Conspiracy (aka the Catholic hierarchy) has lost all credibility and moral authority, including criticism of Ms. McAleese.Of course there will always be those coat holders such as Wild Bill Donohue who will defend Herr Ratzinger, Law and their ilk to the death. As a result of the criminal conspiracy and its resulting irrelevance, Catholic schools, churches and other RC institutions are closing all over the place in my area, as the hierarchy continues to demand even more money from the laity to support what should otherwise be allegedly prosecutable under Rico Criminal Conspiracy statutes in the US.

Bernie The Enabler messed up so badly he was forced to sell his large house and surrounding acreage to Boston College using the proceeds to pay off the church's legal fees and payments to the abused. His next home should not have been the Vatican but Walpole State Prison.

@jetsnoone & phlutiephan - what the last few years has taught that when the truth is out there it WILL set you free. Of course you have to let that happen. You can deny it if you choose, but it doesnt make that truth any less!! Mary McAleese has not expressed a more critical view than has already been expressed by others within the Church; the best example of which I can think of is Saint Pio, who left us in no doubt as to the views of Christ on the stewardship of the church on earth. At least this should be the case for "true" believers!!

Law is a criminal who ran to Rome when he saw trouble coming. He should be in a US prison not cloistered with his frocked buddies in Italy.