TIM O'SULLIVAN,
Sir, - Is Frank O'Meara (July 22nd) hoping the Catholic Church will set up a Talibanesque regime here? The problems of the Catholic Church stem from the fact that it was a male-dominated institution that was unanswerable to its congregations. Even the most conservative of church leaders would freely admit that going back to pre-Vatican II practices would spell disaster for an already beleagured church.
His opinions on "feminist poison" are beneath contempt. Mr O' Meara's implication that people will roast in Hell for giving women a fair and equal part in church and society is laughable and shows complete ignorance of what it truly means to be Christian. I find it hard to believe such archaic opinions still exist here in Ireland. - Yours, etc.,
TIM O'SULLIVAN, Milford Grange, Limerick.
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Sir, - May I offer the incomplete response to one aspect of Frank O'Meara's letter of July 22nd that authority has as much to do with shared creativity as with dominance and, thankfully, is not confined to one gender.
"Older boys" discover, in time, that we need to hear and give credence to the female voice if we are to find our own voice and live fully. - Yours, etc.,
RONAN BROWNE, Johnstown Park, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.