Nowadays, women of profound faith can be heard to say that they feel called to the priesthood. A crucial irony exists in this debate. Both sides believe they are fighting for the very life and existence of the Church. They cannot both be right. Curiously, I believe they are right - but for the wrong reasons.
Few hierarchies face as tough a battle to maintain credibility and relevance as the Irish hierarchy.
They need allies, in particular among women of faith. Those women are willing to forge new alliances, but today the women talk a language many of these men simply do not understand and have difficulty relating to. It is the language of tomorrow's world, not the language of yesterday's seminary. That old language has yet to be unlearnt. It is rapidly becoming a badge of irrelevance and long past its sell-by date.