What is scary are the polls which give these hide-and-seek artists that much in popular intentions in the face of so much disdain of democracy and accompanying dismantling of its institution by a clutch of faceless and for the most part unelected people!

As for the opposition, well, what can one say about them when this country's democratic heritage is quickly going down the drain, at the hands of right wing zealots, and the best they can do, besides sitting on their hands, is get so casually deflected by this gang of conmen/women, and wait for it... from a 'minority' regime. And, one could tear his hair out for this, the remedy right there, in the House constitution, available for the taking by the opposition if they had any guts.

Not that long ago, this would have triggered an insurection and the certain overthrow of this outlaw regime.

Personaly, I am ashamed to call myself a Canadian under the present circumstances...we've become the laughing stock, not just localy, but the world over. Imagine, gangsters taking over, so easily, a once democratic country on the North American continent...One wonders, if by looking southwards, then longly westwards, if we'd be gazing at 'hidden agenda' territory...

Meanwhile, we're saddled with a gutless opposition and a gutless electorate for tolerating the proliferation of this dictatorship!

A pox on all of our houses, we deserve what we get!

Centralization has its advantages?! Oh, yes. That's what Constantine said to the forcibly assembled bishops around 300AD or so. Then they did some wonderful things like declaring Jesus to be God, for God's sake, just to name one, forgetting about the rash of murders of all and sundry that were deemed 'heretics' ... We have a measly part of their gospels that survived the burnings. Then, of course the next big, was The Crusades otherwise known as the great land grab and last but not least, the Inquisition, another fun thing organized by Centralized H.O.....And, God forgive us, it's never gotten any better...Just ask what Pius Xll was doing during WWll for more revelations, that is if you can get an answer, let alone a straight one.

No, centralization is the biggest blanket, tailor made for cover ups and you can take a stab at some sort of justification, but it simply doesn't wash ... this has been proven time and time and time again.

The future of communal spirituality, if believers want one, lies in the loose gathering of like minded people with a minister chosen or elected, either from outside or inside the congregation. And, left to its own devices, local administration is a whole lot more subject to tighter overview than otherwise is the case in Rome, or Canterberry or wherever. Closely knit congregation is a whole lot more alert and vigilant than say a Monsignor/Bishop/Cardinal in his removed abode.

At any rate, centralization has been found out and found out wanting for something more human...

This is a story that simply will not go away. Why? It isn't about the perverted priest. It's about the continuing cover up by the hierarchy from the lower levels to the highest. It's still raging in Ireland at the moment and doesn't bode well for the Roman Catholic church. We could go on and on as to why there's a need to cover up and most reasons would ring true. But at the core it's the same problem, ie the extremely centralized bureaucracy and the law of inertia. For my part, there is no solution to this quagmire... eventually, the Church will have influence only in those under/undeveloped countries and ultimately will loose any influence anywhere. And by the way, the same applies to other churches that are heavily centralized...Those left, will serve the spiritual needs of those believers that are left.