How the church can remedy an original sin

IN his recent very significant letter to the bishops of the Catholic church, which has been unfairly represented as a re-statement of traditionalism, Cardinal Ratzinger puts forward more questions than answers about the role of women in the church.

Among other things, he says that the traditional “societal subjugation of women” is due to original sin and that Adam and Eve had been equal in the sight of God in the Garden of Eden.

So, if one of the tasks of the church is to counter original sin and prepare for the kingdom of God, should the church be promoting rather than restricting women?