Religion & Law

In light of her recent performance, I'd pretty much stopped reading Maureen Dowd, at least until Pentecost.  Yesterday, though, I succumbed to the temptation to read "The Church's Judas Moment,"  her column in the NYT.  Silly me.  Most of her piece yesterday was a letter from her brother Kevin, whom she describes as a "conservative and devout" Catholic.  Kevin has lots to say, some of which struck me as correct.  But then comes this whopper: "[L]aypeople giving [sic] the sacraments are not going to destroy the church."  With the exception of the sacrament of matrimony, does *anything* in the Church's sacramental theology suggest that "laypeople" are capable of celebrating the sacraments?  Yes, the laity have their roles in the sacraments (except Holy Orders), but are the laity capable of "giving" them without the ministerial role of the ordained priesthood?   

The sort "baby with the bathwater" strategy Kevin provides is further unneeded evidence that the grievous shortcomings of some Church leaders are being exploited to advance an agenda that belies any respect for or comprehension of essential characteristics of the Catholic ecclesial reality.