Reply #10: There is a lot of disquiet amongst followers of a lot of the websites I follow too.

[Matilda]

I don't think there can be much doubt that the spirit of Vatican II is being whittled away bit by bit, and it has to be deliberate. And as the case of Bishop Morris demonstrates, the wishes of a small number of hardliners within parishes are dominant over the rest of the community.

Since Bishop Morris's forced retirement, a group of us have been discussing this and other matters over coffee after Mass each Sunday, and I've been surprised that some that I would have thought very conservative are quite outspoken. I don't think the disquiet applies to the whole parish, but I have a feeling it's more than half the congregation, judging by the response to some of the homilies preached by some of the more outspoken priests. Some parishioners are conservative, and some would prefer not to think at all, but there are a good number who think the Church is going in the wrong direction. We are definitely seeing a return to the old days of total authoritarianism, and an emphasis on the rule of law rather than the rule of love.

And most disturbing of all is that priests who have abused minors, and the bishops who have protected them, still have the protection of the Vatican, while another bishop – a good man and a good pastor according to those who know him - who simply said the Church should be discussing a future with fewer priests, has been cut down. Where is the morality or justice in that?