We welcome your editorial of 17 March on the banning of Mary McAleese from a Vatican conference on women’s rights. However, we believe that you and Mary McAleese do not deal with the real issues, which are more than clericalism and misogyny.

The underlying problem is usually a fear of women, which can result in clericalism and misogyny. We have rarely witnessed at first hand clericalism or misogyny among the clergy we have known. Conversely, Terry as a psychiatrist and Monica as a woman have frequently known clergy who have a deep fear of women. Some may have entered the celibate priesthood to avoid close female contact.