you can speak (authoritatively) when I tell you

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you can speak (authoritatively) when I tell you

By Diogenes (articles ) | February 09, 2010 5:47 PM

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The Irish Independent, following in the footsteps of American counterparts like the New York Times and the Boston Globe, has evinced a sudden interest in preserving the authority of the Catholic Church. The sex-abuse crisis in Ireland has jeopardized that authority, the Independent rightly observes.

To retain their faith and loyalty, the bishops must institute radical and urgent reform, and must be seen as united on the question. The stark alternative is a fatal and permanent loss of authority. That would be tragic -- not just for the church but for the country.

Touching. All that is required is "radical and urgent reform," to which every Irish bishop must assent. That reform, any intelligent understands, would include a willingness to alter the structure, discipline, and teachings of the Church to bring Catholicism more in line with the "best practices" of 21st-century democracy (as understood by the Independent).

In short, the best way for Catholic bishops to preserve their authority is to renounce the idea that the Catholic Church teaches with authority. Then the Independent would recognize the bishops' authority, and the bishops themselves wouldn't.

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