I would like to take issue with one sentence in Judith Champ's article "Back to basics: the changing role of the priesthood" (9 May), namely: "It was a Fr Thurston or a Fr Roche who raised the money, bought the land and built the church – and often the school – that gave the community its sense of identity and a place within society."
Father certainly raked in the money, and held the purse-strings very tightly to himself. But raising the money was down to women like my mother who sewed and baked and potted plants for fetes, bring-and-buy tables, raffles and the like.
Nor did Father build anything. He wandered about, not raising a sweat or getting his hands dirty, more like a lord of the manor overseeing his serfs, as tradesmen like my father gave up their weekends to toil for the parish after toiling all week for their secular bosses.
Not giving credit where it is due is a further betrayal of these hard-working people who often didn't have two pennies to rub together after paying for life's most basic essentials.
Margaret Callinan, Melbourne, Australia
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