David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

John XXIII. I think we all know the wonderful man who started the Vatican Council. That is the person I am speaking of.

Mary McAleese had a very difficult background. She was reared in Ardoyne, which was a mixed area but largely Protestant, and some of her neighbours joined the UVF. Her capacity to understand the forces that led to that reminded me of the Dali Lama when he told me in Dharamsala that he was praying for the souls of the Chinese because of the damage they were doing to themselves. It was wonderful and uplifting. This is the hope for Ireland and the church - a critical but loving voice understanding the fallibility of all human institutions, including the church. I felt that long before she came to that brief but wonderful endorsement of gay rights which, as President, she was unable to give except in a most discreet way. She gave such an endorsement in that programme. I refer to her capacity as a statesperson when she was upbraided quite improperly by an American cardinal in New York. She dealt with that with forceful dignity but without allowing it to explode into a major diplomatic incident. She did not reveal it until now. None of us new about it; I certainly did not but I was proud of the way she dealt with it.

I am proud of the progress from South America of our great President, Michael D. Higgins. I thrilled when I heard him evoke the spirit of Pablo Neruda and President Allende-----