text: BROohthor,  we are hearing that call for a more listening hierarchy and a more open church from different places, both inside the clerical/hierarchical church and outside from lay.  BXVI and JPII did quite a job on silencing inquiry and centralizing power - creating a close minded church closed off from the world.  Much good information coming out from the Australian Royal Commission in these last few weeks of their look at the CSA scandal in the Catholic Church, asking important questions about what in the culture of the Church added to the inability of the structural church to respond in a way that cared for victims and identified abusers so they could not abuse again.  
  
  On this issue, the Church needs to learn from society, from the outside world, just as they did when it came to slavery.  A closed up church can't do that - they need lay people, married and single, male and female inside all the discussions on the Church in the world.  Bishops synods without lay input are useless.