Pastoral care for 1 , gays and lesbians I AGREE WITH

NICHOLAS Coote that David Browne's survey of the dioceses of England and Wales gives a false impression of the pastoral care offered to lesbian and gay people (Catholic Herald, 3 September).
In my capacity as the person in charge of Catholic affairs in the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement I have a list of clergy able to, offer "enlightened and effective pastoral care", a list which covers every diocese.
Of course, a gay or lesbian Catholic has to pluck up the courage to Contact these organisations to get access to this information.
The problem, highlighted by David Browne's research, is that the 1986 Vatican "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons", with its clear and unambiguous instructions to bishops and priests to withdraw support from Catholic homosexual groups, created such a climate of fear throughout the Church that discus sion of the issue amongst bishops seemed to cease, until Cardinal Hume broke the silence this summer, and many priests became reluctant to be publicly identified (or even known to their bishop) as offering pastoral care to gay and lesbian people.
So, ironically, in the wake of the Vatican letter, when lesbian and gay Catholics desperately needed support and advice, they were by and large abandoned.
Cardinal Hume has now made it clear that ministers (presumably lay as well as ordained) must be trained to meet the pastoral needs of lesbian and gay people.
There are many lesbian and gay Catholics like me who would be only too happy to help dioceses and seminaries in this important task.
Let us hope that this will lead to every diocese being able to publicly advertise those ministers with particular expertise in this area so that lesbian and gay Catholics will no longer feel so invisible and alone.
Dr Elizabeth Stuart Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement Plymouth