SIR – The Vatican’s recent ruling, prohibiting members of the Roman Catholic Church from participating in activities promoting the ordination of women as priests/bishops seems a terrible error of judgement.

I have not read the “official” Vatican publication, and rely on what is reported in the secular press.

From my reading of the Catholic Church’s own Code of Canon Law, I understand that Catholic congregations (clergy and members) are called to prioritise working with other parts of the Christian Church and local secular community organisations.

What a set-back this seems to me, a member of congregations in Halifax and Bradford since 1961. Other parts of the Christian Church have much to teach us in these areas.

Sharing information with members is not an integral part of the management system within the Roman Catholic Church. Had this been otherwise, the vast Vatican bureaucracy might discover that it is out of step with many members’ thinking on this matter.

I will not post my protest on the doors of St Peter’s in Rome; simply distance myself from the apparent sentiments of the publication and ignore it in practice.

Ted Harris, Ormonde Drive, Allerton