MIKE Baldasera is offended at the suggestion that the Catholic Church is misogynistic. (HAS, Jan 2.) He maintains that women are happy in their restricted role as crowd extras during the Christmas Midnight Mass ceremony in Rome. They are “loyal to the Pope’s authority”

and grateful to receive “the blessing”.

Well, doesn’t that say it all?

Men in fancy dress doling out the blessings on women who must be loyal. And where does this nonsense originate? Step forward the New Testament 1 Timothy 2:11-14: “Let women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over man, but to be in silence.”

However, Mr Baldasera claims that women in his parish “run the church”. What on earth does that mean? Is there a woman priest, one who may be bishop and then archbishop and then Pope? Of course not. Women may make tea, arrange flowers and put out hymn books, but hold no office of any authority.

That is a disgrace, that is offensive, and all the patronising, weasel words suggesting that they actually “run” the church cannot cover it up.

And this matters today because the most organised and formidable opponent of women’s social, economic and sexual rights remains organised religion.

Robert Meggs, Hartlepool.