[sinkspur]

No Deacon you are living in a fantasy land. The ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH is being prosecuted civilly and perhaps criminally for the way it violated US laws

Ah, now you're changing the argument. We were discussing the internal canons of a Church, not any violation of US statutes.

The US government cannot, for instance, take the Catholic Church to court because it ordains celibate men to the priesthood. That is an internal Church regulation that the US government has absolutely no jurisdiction over.

[Siobhan]

The US government cannot, for instance, take the Catholic Church to court because it ordains celibate men to the priesthood. That is an internal Church regulation that the US government has absolutely no jurisdiction over.

That can easily be altered through the American courts which are happy to legislate.

The American courts through various lawsuits have already taken jurisdiction over aspects of internal law in the Episcopalian Church such as in the matters involving Christ Church, Acokeek, Fr. Edwards, and 'Bp' Jane Dixon.