"Hi, Jim - I think the Catholic Church will be a far better institution when/if it is no longer in the majority in any nation.
The "church" is not a "majority" anywhere - in fact it is a miniscule minority - hardly a blip on the scale
Catholics, on the other hand are a different matter
It is not the religion that is the problem, but those who manipulate it to control the way people live - the Catholic church is locked in eternal permanent copulation with the most reactionary establishments and governments while a few of its officers occasionally leap over the wall and fight for humanity and often pay dearly for having done so - back to Romero.
When in control, the church never "proposes" anything - it demands obedience on the pain of eternal damnation.
Following the Savita Halappanavar, there was talk of changing the law on pregnancy termination - the Church responded with a threat to excommunicate all politicians who voted for the change - not a proposal - a threat.
The ridiculousness of a situation where a handful of elderly, celibate (allegedly), self appointed pressure group should have any say on contraception, pregnancy, sexual practices, sizes of families... doesn't seem to have sunk in - bizarre, to say the least.
This self-appointed group of dinosaurs should not be allowed to interfere in things like how to respond to the Zika virus, or whether to use condoms to protect from sexually transmitted diseases, or control family sizes, or who to sleep with and when - none of these things...... and much, much more.
THe sins of the Church are being laid on Catholics as a whole, who are, in fact, the victims - not fair.
Can you explain why the Church should have any influence in these matters? - so far, your team seems to take it for granted that it is a god-given right, or even one to be negotiated.
JIm Carroll