It's particularly bitter that the bishops refuse to follow Canon Law (Canon 915) almost to a man; and then they expect us to defend their Constitutional right to the "free exercise" of a religious integrity they do not preach, and expect neither their institutions nor their people to practice.
While the bishops bear much of the blame for the condition of American Catholicism, equal blame goes to the Republican (I don’t expect anything from the Democrats) politicians. It was the job of the political class to explain how, for example, the contraception mandate is a violation of basic American civics. Change in the arena of civil rights won’t occur until our political culture improves. We still don’t have a cadre of front-row politicians who can make a coherent argument for their own faith, let alone for the rights of other believers. Santorum was a happy exception, let’s hope others take it where he left off.