THE Church Times may be an obscure publication to refer to in your pages, but two quotes are worthy of note.

On September 21 the Archbishop of Canterbury wrote: "Our goal must be a world where violence is a thing of the past", closely followed by the Bishop of Worcester with: "There is a real risk that the language of war gets wound up, and then you can't back down".

Must this attitude of caving in to Fascist aggression relegate the Church of England to a perpetual fifth column?

Only two months after the New York atrocity - November 11 - we have seen, and taken part in, church parades full of ardent worshippers both proud, and sad, for the sacrifices made in war.

If only there was a similar display of loyalty to traditional values by some members of the Episcopacy, would not church numbers start to rise?

P DOUGLAS OSBORN

Wannerton Down

Near Kidderminster