Sir, – It is ironic that when Pope Francis has encouraged more open discussion on family issues and policies at the family synod that some senior conservative cardinals, in a letter to the pontiff, are claiming the synod agenda is predetermined in favour of "liberal-sounding pre-cooked policy declarations" (Paddy Agnew, "Conservative cardinals fear 'pre-cooked' deals", October 13th).
It seems these cardinals are trying to short-circuit open discussions among bishops and in the process to undermine Pope Francis’s wish for a collegiate outcome to these deliberations, whatever they may be.
The letter cites the “collapse of liberal Protestant churches in the modern era”, which they claim was “accelerated by their abandonment of key elements of Christian belief and practice in the name of pastoral adaptation”.
These eminent church people are the product of an autocratic past era and cannot be allowed to scupper Pope Francis’s attempts to create a more compassionate and inclusive church in the 21st century. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN BUTLER,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.