What he no doubt regarded as a perceptive and cutting commentary on the cult of celebrity was clearly nothing more than a bizarre diatribe pregnant with malice towards the wider, church-going public. Not for the first time, Doyle has attempted to masquerade his own murky agenda as insightful, "thoughtprovoking" debate. In reality, he failed to articulate anything that merited real discussion with his groundless and deliberately offensive remarks.

Considering his already dubious and critically inconsistent track record on issues such as the gardai, GAA, Muslims in Ireland and of course his favourite target, the Catholic Church, it is no mean feat that he has succeeded in hitting such a new, unprecedented low. Of course, in sinking to this new depth, Doyle predictably employed his tried-and-tested journalistic device, the crude, factually devoid allegation, and even brought its sidekick (a Doyle standard also), the cheap insinuation along for the ride.

His allegations of financial irregularity on the part of Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity coupled with the truly pathetic comment about neglect of those in her care read like the ramblings of a deluded and very confused man indeed.

However, what ultimately guaranteed his arrival at the bottom of the pit (or is that the gutter? ) was his truly base remark about Padre Pio "leaking". Needless to say, his lead cheerleader and fellow bigot Eithne Tynan was there with pom-poms raised on the opposite page upon his arrival.