13 MARCH 1993, Page 30

Loyal subjects all

Sir: Robert Ballantine (Letters, 6 March) asks how many of the Catholics at Sunday Mass in England are English? I cannot give any precise figures but without dotIbt the answer is — the vast majority.

There will be some people from Ireland, Italy, Poland and other countries. More will have Irish, Italian, Polish and other names but be English by birth, often with roots going back many generations. Many of those at Mass on a Sunday are part of the native Catholic tradition of these islands that predates `England' as a political entity, a tradition that was born in kingdoms such as Northumbria, Mercia and Kent. Does Mr Ballantine imply that no true English- man can be a Roman Catholic? I hope not.

A. Angus

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