Madam, - Further to a report in your edition of September 15th, I would like to clarify the situation regarding Cardinal Cahal Daly's book The Minding of Planet Earth.
1. The only errors in the first print run were omitted punctuation marks in the blurb on the back cover, and one incorrect date in the text.
2. The printing company accepted full responsibility for the back cover and offered to reprint the book immediately. The Cardinal took the opportunity to alter one date in the text.
3. No copies of the first print run were sold in Veritas bookshops, or released to the trade.
4. At the book's launches in Belfast and Dublin, the reprinted copies were not yet available. The situation was explained and, as many people had travelled to the launches, they wanted to buy the book regardless of the minor errors. We offered to send replacement copies if they left their details with us, but the vast majority were satisfied with the imperfect edition.
5. As the imperfect books never appeared in bookshops, there was no question of them having to be withdrawn. - Yours, etc.,
EIMEAR LYNCH, Advertising and Website Co-ordinator, Veritas Publications, Dublin 1.