On the contrary, because they purport to be moral authorities and moral arbiters, their declining credibility is all the more serious and worrying. Many of the things done by the Christian churches are done in the name of Jesus Christ. That, at any rate, is the claim. This has an added dimension in the case of the Catholic Church where the Pope is often referred to as the 'Vicar of Christ'.

Yet the modern papacy retains some of the controversial and dubious preogatives and trappings of a monarchical autocracy. How can any of that be squared with the life, witness and mission of Christianity's founder?

Do we need to radically rethink our notion of 'church' and how leadership is exercised within it? Ought we all to be seeking a reformed church so that it better expresses and serves the 'People of God' and especially that people's 'ownership' of it?