Sir, - What a pathetic spectacle the Catholic bishops and some of their theologians make. Rather than recognising the deep Christian motives which inspired President McAleese to take Communion in a sister church, they have behaved little better than apparatchiks during the dying days of the Communist bloc. Threats and bluster, and merely reciting the letter of Church law - these are no substitute for a genuine engagement with other Christians. Perhaps the subliminal message is that not only presidents, but women, should know their place in a male-dominated church. - Yours, etc.,
Rugby Road, Belfast 7.