It does seem like a miracle, as some British wit once put it, "that an institution run like that has lasted 2,000 years."

Despite everything, the Catholic Church, the world's oldest and largest institution with 2,797 dioceses and more than one billion members worldwide, or one-sixth of the world's population, could be said to be doing well enough. Just not here.

On the other hand, since the Spirit moves in mysterious ways, maybe it's not doing as badly as it seems here either, despite yet more trauma, this time with a particularly raw twist.