Sir, - May I be allowed to object strongly to the notion of Dr Laurence Ryan that any texts of Sacred Scripture be dropped from church services because of their comments about women?
The seven texts mentioned (six from St Paul and one from St Peter) reflect the mores and conventions prevalent in the first century and it should not be beyond any priest to refer, for instance, to the footnotes in the Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral edition, to obtain a more than adequate commentary on the so-called contentious texts. Six of the seven texts have a footnote.
If some women need reassurance about their place in the divine scheme of salvation, they should take comfort from St Luke's Gospel, Chapter 8: "Accompanying Him were the twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources."
They might also refer to the last chapter of St Paul's letter to the Romans, where he sends greetings to 28 named people, eight of whom were women.
He must obviously have been doing something right in his ministry. - Yours, etc.,
Gerry Glennon, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.