Steve, most of those bishops in Rome, came from other places all around the world. And many of them fought hard to keep Rome's nose out of what they considered to be local matters.

The effective targets are the local and national churches, not Rome. That's just the way it was until Ratzinger shifte responsibility in 2001. As I said above, I think John Paul II should have taken responsibility for this issue soon after when he was elected in 1978, but he stayed out of it. The problem was widely known by the mid-1980s, but Rome stayed away from it.

But for many reasons, I am happy that the Roman Catholic Church is decentralized. It gives me much more say-so, since my local bishop is boss and I can talk to him directly.

-Joe-