Sir, - My letter concerning the headgear chosen by President McAleese for her official visit to Pope John Paul II has aroused a certain amount of unfavourable comment from correspondents who felt that the matter was too trivial to merit attention.I would agree with them if I did not believe that the very inadequate form of head covering chosen by the President was intended by her to convey a message - less obvious but essentially akin to that delivered by President Robinson when she presented herself before the Holy Father, rather informally dressed and with no head covering.Why should I suspect malice aforethought? Because I have read contributions from her published in the Universe and the Tablet prior to her election as President, in which she used what I would regard as offensive, insulting and contemptuous terms about the Pope and the Church to which she claims to belong. In the Tablet of March 15th, 1997, referring to a statement made by Pope John Paul about women's rights, she wrote: "Most intelligent men and women can recognise sexist cant, no matter how nobly dressed up, no matter how elevated the speaker, from miles away."She describes the Church's teaching on the all-male priesthood as "2,000 years of shameful codology dressed up as theology, and, worse still, God's will" and in another outburst is reported as having used the expression "woodworm" in relation to Pope Paul II because of the manner in which he dealt with the same topic.Then we had the episode of her very public reception of Communion in Christ Church in defiance of the clear teaching of the Catholic Church on this issue.We now read that our Catholic President proposes to visit "Outhouse", Dublin's centre for the lesbian, "gay" (self-styled), bisexual and trans-gendered community, on April 16th. Perhaps she will read for them a passage from St Paul to the Romans:"For this reason, God gave them up to dishonourable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error" (surely prophetic words). "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct . . . Though they know God's decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practise them."When President Robinson visited Australia she was met by a group carrying a placard with the message: "What kind of Catholic are you?" Perhaps it may be necessary to pose the question again. - Yours, etc.Rory O'Hanlon, Kilternan, Co Dublin.