[sinkspur]

In that spirit, it is appalling to watch President Bush, who has responsibility for safeguarding 280 million of us from terrorists and terror states, being lectured on his duties in that regard by a church that would not even protect children from its own rogue priests and the bishops who enabled them.

Got to agree with Dreher here. In fact, the Church is still covering up for abusive priests. And these power-hungry bishops are an embarrassment.

Yep, the Church's moral authority has been compromised, perhaps beyond repair, for a very long time.

[Maximilian]

The Church's moral authority has been compromised, perhaps beyond repair, for a very long time.

This is a simple fact on which we can all agree, no matter what our opinion of the war or other issues. And it's a sad fact that when there is a real crisis, the bishops have absolutely no moral authority to call on. What if they happen to be right this time about the war? It really doesn't make any difference because absolutely no one listens to them in any case. Traditionalists and conservatives agree on one thing at least: they both despise the US bishops. And liberals aren't listening to anyone about anything. They might agree with the bishops most of the time, but they have not trouble blithely ignoring them whenever they disagree.