Vatican spokesman, Cardinal Luciano Pavarotti, has intervened to deny claims  made recently in The Times newspaper  by the Rt Revd Stephen Platten (formerly Bishop of Wakefield in the Church of England). Bishop Platten claimed: ‘Karol Wojtyla, a Pole, became the first non-Catholic Pope for 450 years.’

Said Pavrotti: ‘There is, of course, no doubt about the orthodoxy of St John Paul II, whose life, writings and ministry remain an inspiration to Catholics the world over.’ Asked on what evidence the bishop might have based his claim (which has caused anti-Anglican rioting in Wojtyla’s native Poland) Cardinal Pavarotti commented: ‘Many Anglicans get almost all their information about the Catholic Church from The Tablet.’