High on the list of reforms for the contemporary Roman Catholic Church must be a theologically-based reform of the Roman papacy.
Basic Principles for Papal Reform
1. The historic Jesus did not establish the papacy. When imperial Roma collapsed, the imperial papacy took its place.
2. The imperial papacy has flourished because an exaggerated self-serving and self-propagating authoritarianism replaced servant ministry as the key institutional virtue.
3. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have consistently pushed and maneuvered to reinforce the imperial papacy:
a. The anti-communist Polish Pope replaced communist authoritarianism with authoritarian Catholicism and appointed Joseph Ratzinger to enforce the party line.
b. The post-Nazi German Pope abolished Vatican II collegiality with Rome-centerd (Pio Nono) nineteenth century papal imperialism.
4. Bishops should not be held accountable to the Pope. They should be held accountable to their people.
Now we need to get the word out and launch the reform.
It is unconscionable that Church “authorities” are not willing (from the very top down) to apply these recommendations that truly reflect what Jesus intended and exemplified. None so blind as those who ‘refuse’ to see! Pax. Aristophilos