Sir, – Archbishop Dermot Farrell concedes that "the current model of the church is unsustainable " ("Archbishop says belief has vanished", News, August 17th). But why does he not directly refer to the continuing scandal of how women are treated? The 99.9 per cent "participatory" model he hopes for will never happen, as long as 50 per cent of that cohort are undervalued, insulted and discriminated against. I have a feeling that Archbishop Farrell knows this well, but he and all Catholic bishops must challenge Rome about this hopelessly out of date inequality. This may offer some hope to a church that we all valued in the past for its leadership and values, but we cannot tolerate this dismissal of women any longer. – Yours, etc,
SHEILA DEEGAN,
Dublin 3.