More liberal church won’t win converts

I SUPPOSE we can all understand where John McSweeney is coming from in his letter headlined ‘Conservative Catholics need to think again’ (Irish Examiner, May 17).

His suggestion that the Church ought to move in a liberal direction, permitting contraception, abortion, etc, is not new and might appear, on the face of it, to be compassionate. It might also - though I doubt it - take the media off the Church’s back and, who knows, Suzanne Harrington might even go forward for ordination.

What it would almost certainly not do is help to keep or attract faithful members for the church - if that is what Mr McSweeney is worried about.