Madam, - Fr Victor Fitzpatrick (August 2nd) does not appear to have read the two recent Vatican documents that so infuriate him. If he had, he could not fail to be aware that both are firmly anchored in the documents of Vatican II, and quote them extensively.
May I quote briefly from the document Clarification on the Doctrine of the Church? "It follows that these separated churches and communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation. . .
"On the other hand, because of the division between Christians, the fullness of universality, which is proper to the Church governed by the Successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him, is not fully realised in history."
It is a pity that Fr Fitzpatrick has not acquainted himself at first hand with the documents of the Church in order to better serve those to whom he is pastor, and to whom he has the responsibility to impart the Church's teaching clearly.
Both of these documents, as well as those of Vatican II (at which the current Pope was an important participant) are freely available on the Vatican's website. - Is mise,
AONGHUS Ó HALMHAIN, Pairc na Seilbhe, Baile an Chinnéidigh, Co Chill Mhantáin.
Madam, - Fr Victor Fitzpatrick decries the "diktat" from the Vatican, objecting to its non-Vatican II language. However, the "diktat" in question is merely a detailed explanation of a particular section of the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium, which states that the true Church of Christ "subsists in the Catholic Church".
His description of the 1962 Mass as "incomprehensible" is hard to support, given that this form of the Mass had sustained the Church for over 1,000 years. The documents of Vatican II called for the introduction of the vernacular into parts of the Mass. The huge revisions and the almost exclusive use of the vernacular were never intended, and go far beyond what Council called for. - Is mise,
LEO TALBOT, Moy Glas Way, Lucan, Co Dublin.