Energy Minister and Cardenal Marín will preach the principal sermon at Sant Joan tomorrow, the cathedral chapter confirmed last night, and is expected to renew from the pulpit the plea he has made from the ministry bench: that humanitarian corridors be opened through the strait for the duration of the refinery fire, and that the vessels of neutral flag now held at anchor be permitted passage.

The Cardinal-Minister's double office, ecclesiastical and ministerial, has given his intervention on this question a weight that has not gone unnoticed in the chancelleries of neighbouring states. Ambassador Delgado, speaking from the consulate in Almaria Vella, confirmed that the kingdom is monitoring the maritime situation through multilateral channels and has joined a coordinated diplomatic communiqué calling for dialogue.

Sant Joan will open its doors at half past seven. The sermon is expected at nine. Parish priests throughout the diocese have been asked to read a short pastoral note at the principal Mass.