The Cathedral of Man
Coming on the heels of reintroducing the Latin Mass, now Pope Benedict's gone and done it, deciding (or restating) that only Catholics are proper Christians while the rest of Christ's self-professed followers are merely "ecclesial communities." This withdrawal of the Catholic Church from common life can only accelerate the preponderant trend among Catholic priests to be either homosexual, alcoholic, or both. The world's most exclusive gay club. And all-too-frequently insensitive to its parishioners' real world needs: What a pity for lay Catholics who must despair over prospects for reform. I suppose their silver lining is that while it's easier for a Pope than a President to turn back the clock it may be more difficult for an individual to completely wreck an institution like the Catholic Church than a country like the U.S.
Posted by George Kenney on July 11, 2007 5:40 AM 
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Comments
The Catholic Church, like the Soviet Union, has fallen for the Rousseau-ian dictum that organisations fail when they try to reform themselves. The Church has had steadily declining numbers and authority ever since the Vatican II council: where it attempted to modernise by getting rid of the Latin and embracing evolution. The Soviet comparison is obviously Perestroika/Glasnost but the comparisons do not end there. Just as Putin is gradually reverting to Soviet style rule and intent, the latest (ex-Nazi) pope is trying to take the church back to pre-Vatican II times in a feeble bid to restore the church to its former glory.
Posted by: paul meagher | July 12, 2007 5:57 AM
Let me preface this comment by saying that although I raised my daughters as Buddhists, they attended a Catholic school and one is a graduate of Notre Dame Univ., so while I don't subscribe to its tenets, I'm not an enemy of the Catholic church per se.
The bunch running the Vatican however are rather scary to me and are greatly influenced by Opus Dei with all its fascist connections.
The Pope's (formerly referred to by his peers as "Panzercardinal") close adviser and secretary, Georg Gänswein (a Bavarian), wields considerable influence as is highlighted in an interesting article in the Guardian UK. Gänswein is about as conservative (on many levels) as they come.
We could easily dismiss the Pope as an anachronism, but I think that would be a mistake. The church and the office continue to play a powerful role in the world for good or ill, and Opus Dei's influence can be seen in the Vatican, Princeton Univ., and even American politics.
Posted by: Pandabonium | July 12, 2007 9:47 PM