"But we're decentralized," Pope could contend

The U.S. attorney Jeffrey S. Lena representing the Pope et al. in the Wisconsin lawsuit regarding alleged clergy sex abuse of deaf boys might have come up with a novel legal defense for the Holy Sea.  It's usually the kind of concept you hear in corporate circles, not religious ones: Decentralization.

In an interview with Monica Daley of THE NEW YORK TIMES, Lena points out that the complaint rests on the assumption that the Roman Catholic Church operates top-down.  Instead, asserts Lena, the lion's share of the power is in the hands of local bishops.  They are relatively autonomous, without the micromanaging of the Vatican.