From Mr Kevin O’Neill SIR – I am grateful to Cardinal Pell for articulating a specific teaching of Vatican II to which traditionalists are required to adhere, namely, that a Catholic state cannot compel belief (News feature, March 20).
The ambiguity of the premises underlying this idea are made manifest by your correspondent’s understanding, which I share, that His Eminence, in his recent address at Oxford University, endorsed the concept of “civil partnerships”, ie that the state can positively sanction immorality.
Assuming the accuracy of this understanding, the obvious falseness of this moral conclusion leads me to believe that it is in fact the Cardinal’s interpretation of Vatican II that is in need of revision.
Yours faithfully, KEVIN O’NEILL London E14 From Mr Freddy Langton SIR – Cardinal Pell struggled to name more than a couple of Vatican II teachings to which all Catholics must subscribe. Doesn’t this suggest that the mainstream leadership of the SSPX has a point when it asks Rome for clarification about the Council?
Yours faithfully, FREDDY LANGTON Leeds, West Yorkshire