The death of Catholicism.

[abaris]

He certainly does speak out of "both ends" at times.  But, consider the "gay" question.  Considering that the Catholic Church condemned the "sin of Sodom" for over 2 millennia, how can the Church now embrace "gay love" without folks coming along and saying that the Church is contradicting itself?  And, if the Church contradicts itself (which, of course, it does and has), is not such evidence that it is just another man-made institution and not one founded upon any sort of divine "revelation"; and if so, why bother with it?  Speaking from a "person in the pew" perspective here.  As an atheist, I am definitively not trying to "defend" it; only surmising why Catholics may abandon it entirely and their reasons for doing so.

Don't overestimate the intellect of staunch believers. And don't underestimate the will for change among moderate catholics. There are quite a lot of grassroot groups calling for a different stance on homosexuality. Comprised of laymen as well as priests.