Sir, - I was interested in the article by Gail Grossman Freyne (May 5th) putting forward what she calls a Christian feminist view. She obviously writes with conviction and passion, but I believe she is mistaken on some basic points.
For example, she writes, "What we seek is an admission of collective equality, that women as a group are equal to men as a group". One wants to ask in what respect or ways. Obviously women are not equal in respect of physical strength; there are separate categories for men and women in most sports. It seems to me that women are generally better than men as regards relationships, although this may be cultural rather than natural. Are women a "group" anyhow?
She is very wide of the mark as regards infallibility, in writing that "it has often been debated as if it is a self-justifying position that asserts direct and exclusive access to the mind of God. It presupposes that a teaching can never be in error or inadequate". This is a colossal blunder. All infallibility asserts is that certain statements made by the church or the pope speaking ex cathedra are free from error. There is no claim of direct and exclusive access to the mind of God, nor does the claim that a statement is free from error mean that it cannot be further developed. Infallible statements are meant to close off blind alleys, not prevent further road-making.
Given Ms Freyne's misunderstanding of infallibility, it is not surprising that she sees it as an obstacle to development. She goes much further when she turns it into "the sin against the Holy Ghost". This is pretty wild, and would seem to show she thinks the Pope is anti-Christ.
Towards the end of her article, she writes, "I cannot, will not, ever assent to an understanding of myself that I am unfit to partake fully in the life of the church". This sounds a very strange statement to me. In the Catholic tradition, East and West, Our Lady is universally accepted as the greatest and holiest of all followers of Jesus her son, and she is revered by popes and patriarchs, and all manner of Christians. Does Ms. Freyne really suppose that Mary, because she was a woman, was inferior to man, or unfit to partake fully in the life of the church? - Yours, etc., (Rev) Colin Garvey
The Abbey, Galway City.