James Kelly (Letters, 11 January) would willingly accept the sacraments “from the validly ordained local taxi driver or newsagent or ­engineering worker on duty from my parish”. So would I and, I suspect, many others. This type of non-stipendiary, part-time, non-­clerical ministry has been argued for by Fritz Lobinger, Bishop of Aliwal North, in South Africa, for example, since 1998 at least. James Kelly is right that they do not need to be commissioned to preach too. As vocations to celibacy in this country understandably dry up, what is holding us back? Simon Bryden-Brook, London SW1Liz Dodd’s article (“Lonely calling?”, 11 January) on the loneliness of Catholic priests raises interesting questions. From my 53 years’ experience of a very fulfi