Read Mary Kenny's review of Mary McAleese's memoir.
Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland and a canon lawyer, recalls how, after her 11th pregnancy, aged 38, her mother was so unwell that she, her husband and their doctor decided a hysterectomy was necessary. Returning from hospital, white as a sheet, she was met by their priest who castigated her for having gone through an operation while still of “childbearing age”. This is just one of the many stories Mary has to tell about life in the Catholic Church in Ireland. She grew up through an era where misogyny was the norm, clerical sex abuse widespread to a horrific degree, and the Church all-powerful in the lives of Catholics.
Yet Mary, despite having become one of the most outspoken critics of the Church's management, remains committed to her faith, and speaks movingly of the positive aspects of her faith and Church.
She has just published her memoir, Here’s the Story. In this podcast, she talks about her life as a Catholic in Northern Ireland and the Republic, both now and when she was young, and of her hopes for the future
(Many apologies for the strange tap on the recording at times. The podcast is made through the Anchor app. Mary and I tried everything we could think of to get rid of this tapping sound without success so in the end just made the best of it. If any listeners have any ideas of how this can be resolved, feel free to share. RG)
Loading ...
What do you think?
You can post as a subscriber user ...
User comments (0)