Sir, - On April 17th, a letter in your paper entitled "Ordination of Women" caught my eye. When I saw that it was written by none other than Fr David O'Hanlon, I felt a tingle of excitement. Wasn't this the same Fr O'Hanlon (the Versace of the Vatican) who put Mary Robinson right when she affronted the Papal dignity by wearing a weed in her tweed? I knew I was in for a great read and his reverence came up triumphs once again.
Quite rightly he points out that the sexes, though absolutely equal, are profoundly distinct. It is all too noticeable. And if any of these so-called liberal Catholics take the time out from reading hedonistic anti-Church texts they will observe, especially with the good weather coming in and all the new summer fashion abounding, that the male/female distinctions are quite profound and there for the eyes to see.
With the surety of 2,000 years of dogma behind him, he also states that "we are not entitled to replace one gender with the other." Spot on, Father! These strayed feminists realise that if they get their hands on the holy priesthood, they will be able to make decisions on running the Church and upset the whole way it has been run for 2,000 years. I say, if it's not broken, don't try to fix it!
As Fr O'Hanlon points out, Christ was crucified for challenging the cultural presuppositions of his society and also for challenging the teaching of the scribes and pharisees who constantly referred to the law of Moses to justify their narrow view of God. Moses said that a woman guilty of adultery was to be stoned. Jesus questioned this teaching. The teaching of the Church is beyond question because it comes from the Bible.
Finally, let me say that women can become prophets and saints and mystics and spiritual directors and abbesses and engage in ministry. Isn't that enough to be getting on with? Women are too concerned with male and female. Galatians 3:28 says that there is neither male nor female, but all are one in Christ.
I sincerely hope that Fr O'Hanlon's letter will put to bed all those straying Catholic feminists, for once and for all. The men of our Church need our unquestioning loyalty in these difficult times of change. - Yours, etc., Mary O'Sullivan,
Dublin 12.