Lavinia Byrne is a Roman Catholic former nun who left the religious order

Religious order

A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...

 of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 2000 after 35 years, saying that the Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 had been bullying her to abandon support for women priests. Her 1993 book Woman at the Altar (ISBN 0-8264-1143-6) outlined her arguments for women priests, and she also wrote about Contraception

Contraception

Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...

. Despite her criticism of the Vatican's treatment, she spoke out positively about Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

 after his death.

Her great-uncle, J. F. Byrne

J. F. Byrne

James Frederick Byrne was English sportsman who captained Warwickshire at first-class cricket and was capped in rugby for both England and the British and Irish Lions.-Cricket career:...

, captained Warwickshire in first-class cricket and was full back of the England rugby union team