Joan: It is indeed past time for the laity to become more involved with how the Church is run. It is past time for the patriarchal /monarchial system to be overturned. The question becomes how to get this done. Can it be done from the inside? Is that even possible? Can we expect those on the inside with all the power to voluntarily give up even a little bit of that power? Historically, that has rarely if ever happened. Myself, I have given up on the idea that change will ever come about from within. If change is to happen, it must happen from sources outside the Church. Most of the changes that have occurred within the last thirty years have come from outside the Church. The lawsuits against the Church, the changes in Statutes of Limitations, the work of organizations like SNAP have moved the needle very slightly. Even today with the very little that Francis has accomplished, there are calls on the right for his resignation. The Catholic Church has changed very little in its' history.