Accountability and Leadership in the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is many things: a sign and instrument of Christ; a gathering of flawed human beings; and a mystery. It is, in some ways, unlike any other organization in the world, yet it is, nevertheless, an organization: as St John Henry Newman observed, “it has developed according to the laws under which combinations of men develop”. There are better and worse ways of structuring, and leading, organizations. Over the past century, a body of knowledge has developed about how to create ‘healthy’, effective organizations. This volume applies this knowledge to the church—in a way that will be of great interest to all who wish to understand the church, as well as to students and practitioners of organizational development—and identifies flaws in its organizational life: the ways in which its leaders are selected, trained, supported, and directed, must improve. Options for constructive change are outlined. Things can, and should, change, if the church is to show the world the light within it.