lead a "pioneering session on child safeguarding", pulled out of the WMOV. On August 18, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, due to address the conference, also pulled out. Although organizers claimed to have sold over 500,000 tickets to WMOF, the Office of Public Works in Ireland confirmed that only 152,000 people attended it. Views Women and LGBT People In February 2018, Farrell banned former Irish President Mary McAleese, a supporter of women's ordination and same-sex marriage, from speaking at a Vatican conference on Women in the Catholic Church. McAleese sought an explanation for her exclusion from Pope Francis through a canon law process. Francis has so far failed to engage in this legal process. On March 18, 2021, Farrell defended a ban by Pope Francis on the blessing of same-sex unions by priests, stating that a blessing was a sacramental action related to marriage, which could only be between a man and a woman. Gun control Farrell is a supporter of gun control initiatives and opposes congressional deference to the "gun lobby". References External links Diocese of Dallas official website 1947 births Living people University of Salamanca alumni University of Notre Dame alumni 21st-century American cardinals American expatriates in Spain American gun control activists Irish emigrants to the United States Cardinals created by Pope Francis Irish expatriate Catholic bishops Irish expatriates in the United States Christian clergy from Dublin (city) People with acquired American citizenship Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Dallas Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of San Antonio Religious leaders from Texas American cardinals