Former president talks about the elephants in the room

In a news report in today's Irish Times former president Mary McAleese, has urged a Scottish cardinal forced to stand down last year to admit publicly that he is gay. She goes on to say, "a very large number" of Catholic priests are homosexuals.

"It isn't so much the elephant in the room but a herd of elephants.

"I don't like my church's attitude to gay people. I don't like 'love the sinner, hate the sin'. If you are the so-called sinner, who likes to be called that? We also know that within the priesthood a very large number of priests are gay."

Ms McAleese's use of the word 'pretend' in the reported speech is surely significant. It is the pretence and obfuscation that goes on within the Catholic Church that is unhelpful and unhealthy.

While she talks about 'a very large number' of priests who are homosexual, the former president is mum on the numbers of bishops who are gay. Again, it has nothing to do with one's sexuality, it is the dishonesty and pretence that is played out.

Also today former German professional footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger has outed. The 31-year-old said he was doing it intentionally before the Winter Olympics. The former footballer. who played for the national team, said he wanted to make a statement against countries who campaign against homosexuals.

The countries who 'campaign' against homosexuality share a common theme. Is it not that there is something nasty about them?