Liberal churches have ‘spiritual Alzheimer’s’, claims Vatican cardinal

Telegraph.co.uk, 23 July 2008

By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Cardinal Ivan Dias also told hundreds of Anglican bishops gathered in Canterbury that churches who take important decisions without the authority of their leaders have “ecclesial Parkinson’s”.
His outspoken comments came just hours after the head of the church in Sudan, backed by Primates of 17 provinces in the developing world, demanded that the homosexual bishop of New Hampshire, the Rt Rev Gene Robinson, be sacked and that those who consecrated him “confess”.
In a speech last night on evangelisation, Cardinal Dias said:
“Much is spoken today of diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
“By analogy, their symptoms can, at times, be found even in our own Christian communities.
“For example, when we live myopically in the fleeting present, oblivious of our past heritage and apostolic traditions, we could well be suffering from spiritual Alzheimer’s.
“And when we behave in a disorderly manner, going whimsically our own way without any co-ordination with the head or the other members of our community, it could be ecclesial Parkinson’s.”