Conservative Catholics fighting the dismissal of two of their number from posts at the University of San Francisco say they may soon have the Pope on their side.

Earlier this year, the Rev Stephen Privett, new president of the mainly liberal, Jesuit-run college, abruptly dismissed the two directors of the conservative St Ignatius Institute. The Rev Joseph Fessio, founder of the institute, said last week he had met in Rome with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's chief guardian of orthodoxy, and his concerns had been passed on to Pope John Paul II. "The Holy Father is aware of what has happened and is watching closely," Fessio said.

Privett accused Fessio and other institute lobbyists of "McCarthyite" tactics. He said he had checked with his Jesuit superiors and found no indications that Rome has intervened in the dispute.