Madam, - The message of equality which Trócaire is promoting in its current campaign is not only beneficial to women; if achieved, it will lead to children living happier, more hopeful lives and will also help men to flourish in relationships which are not demeaning, but more authentic of their true humanity.
This is the radical message of Christian scripture (Galatians 3: 28) which was never fully realised because it was in opposition to the patriarchal society in which Christianity was born: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
There is no theological or scriptural justification for women not taking a full leadership role in the church. This is not about women wanting to be "the boss", but rather about realising the full potential of every human person.
Women's role in the Roman Catholic church has, for centuries, served as a sign of their subordinate position in the world. I would respectfully ask that those with authority, power and care of the message of Jesus ponder the untenable position they occupy in relation to his message and take urgent action to do what they can with regard to this issue. The ultimate goal for all Christian believers is to bring about the reign of God in the world - life-giving relationships - that Jesus promoted. - Yours, etc,
MARY KEARNEY, ANGELA O'ROURKE, BERNADETTE TOAL, Whitechurch Road, Dublin 16.
Madam, - Using the current debate on the Broadcasting Council or Ireland's decision to ban the Trócaire advertisement on gender inequality, Patsy McGarry grossly distorts Catholic theology and its contribution to global development (Opinion & Analysis, March 10th).
He claims that a little girl in the developing world, such as the infant featured in the Trócaire posters, "has a far greater chance of achieving something approaching equality in her culture during her lifetime than she would have in the Catholic church".
What extraordinary ignorance of the realities facing females in the developing world; and how dreadfully petty to hijack a serious debate on gender inequalities in the developing world in order to rehash his own thinly disguised prejudices against the Catholic church. Incidentally, the large photograph above his article, of a young girl in communion dress walking down Moore Street, also tries to distort the campaign focus through its caption "inequality of opportunity between the sexes is not the sole preserve of the developing world".
Mr McGarry initially lauds Trócaire as one of the best of Irish NGOs, whilst acknowledging that it is the "official overseas development organisation of the Catholic church", but then criticises it by proposing that it should refocus its own resources towards fighting gender equality in the Irish church. To distort the argument away from the tragedies of gender inequalities in the developing world towards theological debates on the role of women in the Catholic church is merely tabloid journalism.
By contrast, on the following page, the views of your columnist Breda O'Brien on the BCI's interpretation of the 1988 Radio and Television Act was excellent and thought-provoking. I would, however, take issue with her statement that "Trócaire does not fund any missionary initiatives, but only development work". The role of Catholic missionary involvement in development work at home and overseas is a matter of record. Upwards of 60 per cent of Irish missionary work has been calculated as legitimate development work.
Indeed the Irish Government directly funds such missionary development work through an annual provision of more than €16 million through the Irish Missionary Resource Service (IMRS).
We can be justly proud of the work of Irish Catholic missionaries, who are the true face of the Irish church. Will their efforts against injustice, including gender inequality, take root within the church in Ireland? That will only happen whenchurch members - the laity - take their share of responsibility, decide what is unjust and make its ending a priority. - Yours, etc,
Dr VINCENT KENNY, Chief Executive, Volunteer Missionary Movement, All Hallows College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.