Sir, - Word had filtered Down Under of Mary McAleese's support for women's ordination and of her election as President of Ireland. We had not heard that she had in fact been ordained, as might be inferred from Mr John Clifford's letter (January xx). Has anyone told the Pope ?
Seriously, however, it gladdens the heart that this admirable woman - a disciple of an illustrious Benedictine , Dom John Main, yet to be appropriately recognised in Ireland - has been the means of reminding not only a rule-bound episcopacy of the liberty which comes with following the way of Jesus Christ but also, though arranging for the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament in her new home, reminding her Irish people of the importance which she places on keeping as close as possible to the Way, the Truth and the Life.
For a member of the Irish Catholic diaspora, weary of the media-nourished negativity about almost everything Irish except dubiously talented pop celebrities, a so-called "tiger economy" (whatever that means) and the flight from that religious commitment which has sustained our oppressed ancestors, the example of Mary Mc Aleese comes as water in the desert. - Yours, etc.,
Adelaide, Australia.