Sir, - Let me get this right: according to Patsy McGarry (August 7th), the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship says that, just as we have got used to being addressed at Mass as "brothers and sisters" (or better still, "sisters and brothers"), we must go back to all being "brothers", even if the congregation is mainly female.
Now exact translations are fine if you are dealing with an international treaty or a million-pound contract, but will the Lord turn a deaf ear to our prayers if we don't get our wording right? Would He not rather hear plain prayers from a Christian family of men and women than a scholar's translation from Latin, which may be splendidly exact but leaves women in limbo? - Yours, etc.,
Patricia Daly, Home Farm Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.