Can you imagine a rugby journalist or ex-player writing a column condemning the GAA for being old fashioned, out of touch and irrelevant? Now, if you were a GAA person, how would you respond to that?

Probably how Roman Catholics feel when a lefty commentator lectures the church on its ways. They are an easy target and nothing pleases a liberal hack more than an opportunity to have a dig at Catholicism, or any organised religion for that matter.

What is different about Mary McAleese’s recent speech on the divisive subject of women in the church is that she is making the point from within. She is a practicing Catholic who obviously cares about its future. There is no other agenda. If we want to keep with the sporting analogy, it is OK to be critical of the manager of the club you support for picking the wrong team, but you still wouldn’t like to hear a rival supporter criticising him.

So I was surprised there was such vitriol levelled at Mrs McAleese in the wake of her speech in Rome and her subsequent interview with Sean O’Rourke. The Catholic bishops have sung dumb in the aftermath, leaving the pithy attacks to her fellow worshippers. Most cutting of all are those who suggested bluntly that if she isn’t happy, she should leave. It brought home to me something that is very remarkable about hardened defenders of the Catholic Church, the most devout and pious pockets of the church. Without sounding too broad brush, some not very nice people occupy that space.

The irony is amazing. Some of the more right-wing hard-line catholic apologists can be among the most unchristian, uncompromising and uncaring. Go online or listen to texts read out on radio shows if you don’t believe me. These self-righteous reactionaries to any perceived criticism of the church, its priests or its ways, can sometimes be of a most uncharitable and unchristian nature. If Catholicism is all about love, empathy, forgiveness and Christianity, its glaringly missing in situations like this. In this case, a genuine issue of debate, such as women priests, was brought up by a high-profile individual and subsequently parsed in the media. This wasn’t an online troll or hater of the church who made the quite legitimate remarks about the church’s attitude towards women. It was one of their own, our former president. She deserves respect.

Not to trivialise what is a complex and emotive issue, but at a time when vocations are on the decline, wouldn’t you think a debate on women priests makes sense? Or are Mary McAleese’s detractors saying that no priests would be better than women priests? CL

Solving homelessness

If the Government is serious about tackling the housing shortage, they must introduce progressive tax relief measures for landlords. Many first-time investors who bought during the boom and survived the crash are now getting out with just about the shirt on their back as prices lift to above negative equity.

Meanwhile, some other small-fry landlords holding onto their one or two investment properties are charging as much as they can to meet high income tax obligations and mortgage repayments. Ethics go out the window when the bank or tax man calls.

So between these higher rents and landlords selling, it’s contributing to the homeless crises. Populist politicians can’t have it every way. In highlighting the plight of the homeless and the need for more housing, surely they must recognise the imperative role investors will play in the solution. Maybe they and, indeed, the Government might like to show us logical proposals to incentivise landlords and safeguard the rental market long term.