Quote du Jour (Religion Department): The Roman Catholic Church and Change

The church and change? Which word doesn't go with the other?

I'm always guaranteed a hearty rueful laughs whenever I say, "We're the Catholic Church, we'll get back to you in 400 years."

And so you can easily imagine my delight when I found this gem set toward the end of John Allen's recent post, "Francis at 100 days: 'the world's parish priest'" The (longish) article is worth reading for Allen's typically smart style and wise analysis of what is -- or isn't -- going on at the Vatican since Pope Francis became the Bishop of Rome.

Key question: If a new culture for church leadership is being shaped, is it catching on? On the way to conjecture, this delightful sentence appears:


The Catholic church is legendary for thinking in centuries, and the Vatican in particular tends to respond to pressure for rapid change the way teetotalers react to an offer of Scotch and soda -- with a mixture of terror and disgust.
─ John L. Allen, Jr.