Vatican and other churches

Madam, - As a priest who has always worked very hard at promoting inter-church co-operation, dialogue and friendship, I feel…

Madam, - As a priest who has always worked very hard at promoting inter-church co-operation, dialogue and friendship, I feel I speak on behalf of many other Catholic priests and lay people when I say I am extremely dismayed by the latest diktat from the Vatican that the Roman Catholic Church is the only one, true church of Jesus Christ. Language such as this was quite rightly jettisoned at the Second Vatican Council.

Also quite rightly binned was the incomprehensible and clericalised Latin liturgy. Its reintroduction is further proof that elements within the Roman Catholic Church would rather try to forget that Vatican II ever happened at all. Well, it did; and thank God it did; and no amount of back-pedalling can erase the actions of the Holy Spirit, who is present in all baptised men and women - a truth that many senior prelates would also, it seems, wish to ignore. - Yours, etc,

Fr VICTOR FITZPATRICK, Herbert Road, Bray, Co Wicklow.