[Rum Tum Tugger]

These rebellious priests have no right to expect to be “consulted” or to expect the bishop to “collaborate” with them. They have the obligation to sit down, shut up and submit in humble obedience to their bishop. If they have a legitimate complaint, i.e., that his governance of the diocese is not consistent with Catholicism, then they should bring that to the attention of the Congregation for Bishops at the Vatican not to the attention of the local radio station. No one in actual Church authority asked for the impudent opinions of these priests and no one ought to ask. They evidently operate under the assumption that the Catholic Church is some sort of democracy which, thenk God, it is not and never will be.

You're absolutely right. That's exactly how the Catholic Church is supposed to work.

However, that train left the station many, many years ago and it's never coming back.

There's just too much corruption and incompetence among the Church clergy for the authoritarian model to work anymore.

The best that we can hope is that the authority related to theology and dogma is protected, but the kind of authority of which you speak will never return. It's just wishful thinking.

[BlackElk]

I don’t think any train has left the station. Rather, we have lived through a thankfully brief period in which the lunatics have been in charge of the asylum. Review the appointments of American bishops in recent years and it is reasonably clear that the days of AmChurch ecclesiastical leftism are numbered. The restoration of genuine authority with real punishment of vipers in clerical garb reflects not wishful thinking but hard current analysis coupled with the virtue of hope, given to us by our Founder. It WILL be how the Church will be governed as it is how the Church has been governed through most of its history.