The letter to CAFOD’S trustees referred to by Megan Cornwell (“The developing agency,” 11 June), which Brian Davies and I organised, was not only signed by over 200 Cafod supporters and Justice and Peace activists, but expressed concerns felt by many more. As well as Cafod’s failure to consult its supporters, there was concern at the weakening of the vital link between staff in the dioceses and supporters and the lack of any coherent rationale for the restructuring and related redundancies.

Chris Bain, Cafod’s director, apologised for the failure in consultation and modest changes were made to the proposals – though not enough to allay serious concerns about the adequacy of the reduced staffing in the dioceses. The rationale eventually given was that substantial reductions were expected in government and donor funding and that Cafod wished to use a greater proportion of its funds in recipient countries. But assumptions about reduced income have proved to have been wrong.