Sir, – Maria Mhic Mheanmain wonders whether there is room for her in the new “Catholic Spring” (December 27th) as outlined by Joe Mulvaney in a previous letter. She see no reason for any change whatsoever in the Catholic Church and that is her prerogative. However, for me and for so many others, change is an essential feature of any organisation including the church; it must adapt or die. That is why so many Catholics, like myself, who remain committed to the Catholic Church but feel excluded, believe that unless there is a springtime of radical new growth in the church it will wither away in the winter of its own making. An essential feature of this new “Catholic Spring” will be the inclusivity of all the baptised whether they are divorced, gay, lesbian, radical or conservative.
Maria Mhic Mheanmain need not worry about being excluded from such a church. – Yours, etc,