A generation ago, mainstream Christianity was widely dismissed as démodé. This verdict itself looks old-fashioned today. Whether you view recent developments with relief or unease, it is clear that the Catholic Church, in particular, remains remarkably robust. There are now almost as many Catholics as citizens of China. Secularists might be surprised to learn that the Church is the largest single supplier of health care and education on the planet, the principal glue of civil society in Africa, the strongest bulwark of opposition to the caste system in India, and a leading player in global campaigns for sustainable living. It provides almost the only charitable presence in Chechnya, and other blackspots often forgotten by the rest of the world.And yet:
these marks of health contrast sharply with the often poor standard of the Church’s leadership.In other words, the leadership of the Church isn't doing what WE would do!!!!! How dare it be working out so well??!?#?%??^?!!!
Oh, and I must look into this, "the absolute power enjoyed by popes over the past 150 years was only made possible by the railways."
Then surely, the Interwebs have magnified that?
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