His Eminence the Cardenal will, at Sunday's intercessions in the cathedral of Sant Joan, read aloud the names of the eleven crew of the Estrella de Vella alongside the three correspondents whose whereabouts remain unknown. The pastoral letter circulated this week — 'The Patience of the Sea,' written, it is understood, before the merchant vessel was detained in international waters — will be distributed at the doors.

The decision to name the crew and the correspondents together is not ceremonial. The Cardenal has, through the proper channels, requested that the Maritime Safety Subcommittee be convened on an emergency footing. That request, as of last night, had been acknowledged by the Chamber's clerks but not yet scheduled. The Subcommittee's ordinary calendar would place its next sitting after Monday's fuel vote; Sunday will precede both.

The Estrella was released with her cargo after four hours. The men aboard her returned to their families. The correspondents have not. To read the fourteen names together is to insist, gently and without accusation, that the distinction between a commercial inconvenience and a disappearance is one the Kingdom owes its attention.

Those close to the Cardenal describe his preparation for Sunday as unhurried. He has been seen this week at the seminary and at the harbour chapel, and twice at the residence of a senior figure whose name does not appear on the programme but whose absence from it would be noticed.