Why those that Claim the Church can't survive are confused.

There are a lot of people saying that the Church is going to fall, the Catholic Church can't handle this sexual abuse crises, and that the Catholic Church is going to die.

This is just ludicrous! The problem lies with the media, and many other people,viewing the Catholic Church in political terms. To be sure, the Holy See does enter into diplomacy, and has a bureaucracy. But the Catholic Church itself is a religion. A few points need to be made with that in mind:

1. The sins of the people reflect not the sanctity of the institution, but emphasises the fact that the institution is made up of people. One can't say "Because the boss of a charity stole money, the charity is a thief". No, the boss is a thief, the institution is not. You don't stop giving to a charity that helps sexual abuse victims when you find out that one of the secretaries sexually abused someone.

2. The Catholic Church was founded by Christ and entrusted to St. Peter and the Apostles. It cannot fail, and history backs me up! The Catholic Church has had TONS of scandals, and countless horrible priests, bishops, cardinals, popes, and laity! Get real!

3. There are still many people that are dedicated to the Catholic Church. In fact, over Easter, Irish diocese across the board saw an increase in Mass attendance. There are some Irish Catholic newspapers that I read that stated Mass attendance was up. The reason, I think, is that people are realizing that the Church is founded by Christ, and that in moments of great pain and distress, the Church is where to go to for sanctuary. People like Hans Kung don't understand this, and they choose to try and hurt anything and everything near them at times of distress. It is in times of crises that one either grows closer to the Church or chooses to bite and it. Hans Kung chooses to bite... the peoples of Ireland choose to understand the Catholic Church for what it is, the Body of Christ no the Body of Man, and cling to it.

4. Religions are more precious that political systems. Political institutions reflect how humans understand the world around them, the secular world. Religious institutions reflect how humans understand the Universe. Zoroastrianism, one of the most ancient religions in the world, still has a following. Catholicism is 2000 years old, and Judaism older than that. People still follow the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians! People hope that by claiming the death of the Catholic Church it will be so, but time and time again it has never been so.

All in all, I hope you see my point. The Catholic Church will never die. When Christ comes again, the Church still won't die, but will rather come to completion.

So, what do you think? Do you see the end of the Catholic Church, a radically smaller Church, or a bigger, more vibrant, stronger Church? Or do you the Church will stay, essentially, the same?