Mary McAleese, the former president of Ireland, has appealed to the Pope after being barred from giving a talk at the Vatican. The speech was reportedly blocked by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the American head of the new super-dicastery for the laity, family and life, because of her opposition to Church teaching on homosexuality. Mrs McAleese, who has said she is “ashamed” of the Church’s teaching, was due to speak at a conference entitled “Why Women Matter” at the headquarters of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences. Chantal Götz, director of the Voices of Faith conference, said the list of speakers required approval from Cardinal Farrell. He withheld approval, she said, for Mrs McAleese and Ssenfuka Juanita Warry, a Ugandan gay rights’ campaigner. Ms Götz opted to change location rather than cancel speakers. The event will now be held at the Jesuit Curia in Rome. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin distanced himself from the Vatican decision. A statement said: “Neither Archbishop Martin nor his offices were consulted by the Vatican in relation to this matter.” The row came as the Vatican faced criticism for removing pictures of same-sex couples from leaflets for the World Meeting of Families in Dublin in August. Ireland’s Association of Priests said the action, and the McAleese ban, were “unacceptable”. Cardinal Farrell’s office is in charge of organising the families summit. Mrs McAleese told the Tablet she would not comment on the matter as she was waiting for the Pope to reply to her letter. The Dublin-born Cardinal Farrell was named a Vatican prefect in 2016.