Martin Scicluna (October 16) picks on a paragraph in my write-up (October 13) that was the result of an editorial mess-up rather than my own. I requested to have the deleted line re-inserted online.

He may want to read it in my page on Facebook.

The phrase “speaking truth to power” makes sense in a civil service training programme. It does not as a missile against the magisterium of the Catholic Church

Mr Scicluna states that the phrase was coined “of course” in 1955. I suppose he got this from his UK civil service training. Well, my impression is that the phrase got coined some 2,000 years before then.

The “fourth” Gospel gives an impressive account of “Truth” speaking to “power”. It happened at a pretorium in Jerusalem. Pontius Pilate was the power.

When I said that my esteemed correspondent quoted Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s “speaking truth to power” without crediting him I was not reproaching him for plagiarism. I was rather criticising him for trivialisation.

Cardinal Carlo Martini’s motto Pro veritate, adversa diligere (for the sake of truth let us embrace difficulties) is indeed inspiring. But only those who read it in its Biblical and ecclesial context will gain from it. Beyond its appropriate context its use would be misuse.

The saintly cardinal, whom I had the honour of meeting several times, has suffered enough indignity to continue to be thrashed about as happened in the Church debate organised by The Times and as Mr Scicluna is still doing.

In this, in any case, the late Italian cardinal is not unlike his divine Master whose enemies sought to make sure He did not come out with His dignity intact.