Dr Joseph Shaw, in responding (Letters, 6 August) to my article criticising the letter in which he and 44 others called on Pope Francis to clarify 19 statements found in Amoris Laetitia (“The illusion of certainty”, 30 July), passed over in silence many of the points I raised. He largely limited himself to querying my claim that when, over the centuries, councils, pope and bishops have published a significant document, they have not normally added a further text clarifying the original document, but have left it to other, qualified members of the Church to clarify, interpret and apply the teaching.

Very occasionally, authorities have appended clarifications to some piece of teaching.