Returning the compliment, Mick has made me think about what it means to belong to an institutional religion (Buddhism is about as institutional as the International Order of Cat Parade Marshals, but still); and what are the circumstances that would force you to decide to get out, rather than in -- a debate we have had here before on a variety of subjects.

Speaking of reading, it is worth pointing out that Garry Wills (whose book "Papal Sins", came out last year is quite brilliant, though not as good as his Lincoln in Gettysburg, which is among the greatest pieces of critical analysis I have ever read), just published, in spite of that excoriating take on the Papacy, "Why I Am A Catholic." His take is unlike Mick's, but, at least in the reviews I have read, he thinks it is possible to get the church out of the hands of the Papacy, if the history of the church is read right.

What the people of Australia must think of Archbishop Pell, heaven only knows. Perhaps he is Richard Chamberlain's son?

yours, Peter T.