I am mystified by why Archbishop Vincent Nichols has spoken out against the ordination of women as deacons (News from Britain and Ireland, 18 February). Is it remotely likely that the leadership of women “would simply be channelled into the Order of Deacon” and why would he be so fearful of that? There are, I suspect, very few male deacons in leadership roles in the church.

In his article “Understanding Francis” (same issue), Archbishop Nichols commends the Pope’s desire for “radical reform of the Church” and says we may need to “allow some models we had formed in our heads to be broken down”. Perhaps an all-male clergy is one of those models and perhaps that is why Pope Francis has set up a commission to explore the possibility of opening the diaconate to women.

Archbishop Nichols concludes that Francis “is our shepherd and he is to be lovingly followed”, so why not on the question of women as deacons? We often hear of “à la carte Catholics”; is this a case of an “à la carte Cardinal”?