Madam, - Newspapers around the world have reported that the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, has declared that the highly controversial prayer for the conversion of the Jews could be dropped from the reintroduced Latin-language liturgy. He said that "we could simply study the possibility of substituting the prayer", which asks that "God remove the veil from Jewish hearts" so that they would recognise Jesus Christ.
The picture of the Church's top personnel (which ones, how many?) spending time studying this "possibility" is truly mind-boggling. We have no way of knowing what Jesus himself might think of this use of manpower by the Church which claims to be the only true Church of Christ. The words of the gospel come to mind: "and Jesus wept". - Yours, etc,
(Fr) SEÁN FAGAN, SM,
Lower Leeson Street,
Dublin 2.