If Wills stuck to the point that power, including papal power is subject to abuse, few sincere people would be able to take issue with him. The problem is that he tries to sell the reader on a different vision of the Church, the Church of Gary Wills et. al. and he does this with all the zeal of a televangelist. No Roman Catholic, progressive or traditional would recognize Wills' new (or "reformed" to give him his due) Church. It would be a church without Sacraments as we understand them today, without teachings grounded in absolute truth, and where conceivably women priest may avail themselves of abortion. It is ironic how Wills' in "Necessary Evil" almost scolds us for not trusting big government, now cautions us against the Church structure. I don't think the Catholic Church needs to hide from its failures, both past and present and with John Paul II we need to seek forgiveness, but to ask us not to be Catholic is beyond what should be expected from us.