Barrister and columnist Maria Steen has defended the papacy as being a “rock of stability” following criticism of Pope Leo by former President of Ireland Mary McAleese.
Ms McAleese said in an article focusing on Pope Leo’s first 100 days as Pope that regarding the issue of women’s equality in the Church, Pope Leo “is as bog-standard patriarchal, patronising and prone to tokenism as Francis, Benedict, John Paul II and Paul VI”. She accused him of never being a “champion of gender equality”.
The former president also criticised Pope Leo’s views on “LGBTQ+” people and his “uncompromising comments” reiterating Church teaching on marriage and abortion – which she states is an attempt by Pope Leo to appeal to “US Catholic voters who distrusted Francis and whose financial support Leo is trying to restore”.
In response to Ms McAleese’s, Maria Steen told The Irish Catholic: “The most surprising thing about the new pontificate is that some people remain surprised that the Pope is actually Catholic.
“In a world where there is so much fickleness, change, and division, the Popes of the Catholic Church have been rocks of stability – just as Christ said they would be,” Ms Steen said, adding: “The Church has maintained a consistent position on moral issues such as the sanctity of life and marriage; this attracts many who are wearied by the empty promises of the world. It is part of the reason why millions remain faithful to the Church, and why there are new converts every year, many of them women.”
