James
Reading the following observation, one immediately thinks of Protestants, but it’s worth noting that far too many Catholics share this democratized, “We the People” understanding of “church”.
The Church is not a democracy. We must move-it is maintained-from the paternalistic Church to the community Church. This view holds that the Church arises out of discussion, compromise and resolution. But a Church based on human resolutions becomes merely a human church. It is reduced to the level of the makeable, of the obvious, of the opinion. Opinion replaces faith. “I believe” never signifies anything beyond the “we opine”. Ultimately, the self-made church savors of the “self”, which always has a bitter taste to the other self and just as soon reveals its petty insignificance. ~Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI, Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today