Is Catholicism Dead?
By that I guess I mean Roman Catholicism, as practiced in America.

Andrew Sullivan has a lot of people and things to be mad about lately. Can't say I blame him. Blaming gay priests for pedophilia seems completely to miss the point. Among other things, most non-priest pedophiles are married, many with children of their own.

What would you do if there were a schism? Or, what if for various reasons worshipping in Roman Catholic churches suddenly became completely unpalatable?

I guess we've been down this road before in world history. The last thing Martin Luther wanted to do was leave the Church. Even after that, the last thing he wanted was for a major denomination to be named after him. They named it after him anyway.

I really wish Pope John Paul II were younger and in better health. I'm a Protestant (Lutheran, in fact), and I deeply admire this particular pope. He's said a lot of really stirring, deep-down dead-on correct things. He probably should say something about the current scandal. Say anything other than what his underling said over the weekend.

It's been so long since I read a right-wing magazine on paper (instead of on-line) that I haven't seen any smarmy ads for the New Oxford Review lately. Just as well; their form of Catholicism make me glad to be Protestant.