Speaking at a Voices of Faith conference in Rome, former President Mary McAleese referred to the Catholic Church as "an empire of misogyny" and hit out at its failure to allow women to be ordained as priests.

Is she right?

Father Brian McKevitt believes that "her vision of the Church is shockingly narrow."

"She doesn't mention the tens of thousands of people from Ireland alone, both male and female, who are inspired by their love for the Church to dedicate their lives to serving the poor and preaching the Gospel."

"There's a vast Church much wider than the narrow agenda that she has."

Father Brendan Hoban of the Association of Catholic Priests says he would be in favour of the ordination of women, and that Mary McAleese's position is "very credible and persuasive."

"The difficulty in Rome is that they're caught in a culture of oppression. Their attitude to women is very negative."

"Unless we get the energy and enthusiasm of women into positions of authority in the Church, the Church as we have it is going to die."