Sir, I have seldom read such patronising sentiments as those expressed by Sister Stanislaus Kennedy in "Some other mother's son" (September 12th).
The examples speak for themselves: "Let us also embrace those men who are trying to be better"; "in our moral outrage let's not forget that there are many good men in this world" "we should accept the apologia of those men who make it"; "when we think about men, then when we write about them, picture them in our mind's eye and blame them for all the ills of this world let us remember the women who battled with pain and suffering to give them life"; "if as a man, you find your castle under attack both from the enemy without and the demon within, where is the peace of mind that can save you from your own worst thoughts?", "is it doing mankind justice to say that all men are stubborn, deaf and singing about their world view?".
Judging by that article and the two previous ones, Sister Stanislaus is labouring under a major false assumption. Men as a sex are by no stretch of the imagination morally, legally or in any other way responsible for crimes done by a minority of men. Therefore we have no need to "shoulder our guilt as a sex"; our responsibility is as individual human beings. Original sin, it would appear, in Sister Stanislaus's view is proper only to the male of the species.
Sister Stanislaus alludes, rather unconvincingly I think, to the Gospel injunction for women not to cast the first stone. Perhaps taking the log out of one's own eye first might be more appropriate. - Yours, etc.,
Bayside Boulevard North,
Dublin 13.