It was Fr Henry St John who suggested the title. The term ‘eirenic’ has some advantages over the term ‘ecumenical, though the latter is of course the more widely used. ‘Ecumenical', if understood etymologically, and if understood otherwise than the word ‘Catholic', suggests that there is a theology which is general, over against a theology which is particular. In the context of modern conditions, that could mean there is a supradenominational Christian theology, over against sectarian or local theologies. Such a suggestion would be disturbing to the Catholic as being out of harmony with the divinely instituted unity of the Church.

There is, of course, a possibility of adapting the principle here involved to Catholic theology. One can, and must, distinguish between the theological opinions of a school and the universal teaching of the Church.