Yesterday, the world's most Irishly named man, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, did a Rowan Williams and got his foot lodged clumsily in his mouth. Defending atheists (as if they are so beleaguered in this increasingly secular society) Mr Leprechaun O'Potato didn't stop short of having a very thinly-veiled dig.
In full-on patronising mode, O'Guinness outrageously claimed that atheism is just a "distorted kind of Christianity." In the same as Zoroastrians, who believe that when you die your soul is carried heavenward by scavenging birds, are really kind of Christians - they just don't know it.
Why do atheists need defending when there has been a 40% decline in the number of churchgoers within a generation? Surely it is Christians who need to defend their beliefs in a society increasingly adverse to outward displays of religiosity?
Graciously accepting your counterparts may well come across as inclusive and open-minded. In actual fact, the attempt by O'Fields of Athenry to show that he understands these godless masses only serves to show how woefully out of touch he is with society's spiritual health. Atheists are not really Christians, they have taken an informed (and invariably logical) decision to shun the belief in the existence of a higher being.
27% of people living in England (and Ireland) today are comfortable enough with these little, insignificant religious spasms to define themselves as Catholics. Cardinal Baileys is in a minority and, as such, doesn't get to speak on society's behalf any more.
O'Shergar has not only displayed a staggering amount of arrogance in his presumption that Catholicism is the only correct way of leading a spiritual life, he has also defeated his very argument that society needs to be more universally accepting of religion. You can't say, "We should all be free to express our beliefs," and then follow it up with, "As long as those beliefs match my own." You can't have your potato cake and eat it.
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