Sir, - Your edition of October 11th reported that the Irish Catholic bishops had applied to the Vatican for permission to introduce the diaconate to Ireland.
Should the request for a male diaconate be granted, it is to be hoped that those men who cherish the Gospel values of respect for human dignity, love of neighbour, and the healing of divisions, and who are familiar with the history of the church, will not wish to collude in this shameful manifestation of gender discrimination.
The request ranks with the welcome extended to those Anglican clergymen who dissented from the teaching of their church on the issue of the ordination of women as a serious rebuff to Catholic women, whose fidelity and active commitment to their church is there for all to see.
On the occasion of the Beijing World Conference of Women in 1995, Pope John Paul II wrote as follows: "If objective blame [for discrimination against women] especially in particular historical contexts, has belonged to not just a few members of the Church, for this I am truly sorry. May this regret be transformed, on the part of the whole Church, into a renewed commitment of fidelity to the Gospel vision. When it comes to setting women free from every kind of exploitation and domination, the Gospel contains an ever relevant message which goes back to the attitude of Jesus Christ himself [his italics]. Transcending the established norms of his own culture, Jesus treated women with openness, respect, acceptance and tenderness."
What became of this intended transformation, one wonders?
It must be said that it is extremely difficult to maintain and assert one's belief in a God who loves unconditionally when church leadership, in its retrenchment and negativity, is conveying a contrary impression.
One feels all the more saddened by the fact that church leadership is preoccupied with mint and dill at a time in which the message of Christ bringing purpose and meaning to human life is so greatly needed, and in which an unsatisfied hunger for the spiritual is so much in evidence. - Yours, etc.,
Rosemary Doorly, Trees Road, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin.