Letter: No disgrace for CD monk

CLARE GARNER states that "a Carthusian monk who broke his vow of silence to make a one-off CD has left his monastery" (13 December). I am sure the writer intended no harm but it is a serious allegation to state that a religious has broken a vow. It is also wrong. Carthusians do not make a vow of silence; it is simply one of our monastic observances. The implication in the phrase "broke his vow" - of something done in an unauthorised way - is also incorrect. The making of the CD was a project authorised by the competent superior in which Dom Ignace participated along with other monks. He is now on a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons.

PRIOR CYRIL PIERCE

St Hugh's Charterhouse,

Horsham, West Sussex