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8
closertoassertingthatdemocracynotonlyisconsistentwiththeprincipleofthe
commongoodbutisthebestknownsystemoftransferringpower,itpromotesthe
participationofcitizensinpoliticallife,“guaranteestothegovernedthepossibility
bothofelectingandholdingaccountablethosewhogovernthem”2.Ingeneral,de-
mocracyisrecognisedasadeviceofempowermentto‘subjectivity’ofsocietywhile
itstrengthensandexpandsstructuresofparticipation,senseofbelonging,andcollec-
tiveresponsibility.Democraticsystemallowsthefullestapplicationoftheprinciple
ofpeople’ssovereignty3.Nonetheless,ademocraticpoliticalsystemisapplicable
onlyexternally,toastateorotherformofsocialstructurebutundernocircumstances
internally,asameanoforganizationalmodeltotheinstitutionalchurchitself.
Thispaperreflects,thus,fromasociologicalperspective,onthenatureofauthor-
ityintheChurchandonmodesofgovernanceandcharacterofinternalself-organi-
zationoftheRomanCatholicism’sinstitutions.Theauthoroftheresearchrecognizes
thatthemattersoforganizationalmodels,authority,andgovernancearehistorically
relianttooutersecularcultureandmoderatelyresponsivetochangesinnon-church
(non-ecclesiastical)culture.Atthedawnofthetwenty-firstcentury,suchexternal
influenceanddemand,withintheWesterncultureinparticular,ischaracterizedby
ademocraticimperative,expectationsofparticipationindecision-makingandrul-
ing,requirementofleaders’accountability,andatthetimeoflegitimizationcrisis,
asJürgenHabermasclaims4,democraticandparticipatoryre-foundingoftheorigins
toanytypeofsocialorder.Underthepressureofthecrisisofcredibilityanddecay
ofreliability,causedbyveryrecentabusingscandalsandperpetrators’covering-up
mishandlingbythechurchleadersisappropriatetoconsiderthewaysinwhichthe
RomanCatholicchurchisattemptingtoredefine(unlessitisstilldefendingtomain-
tain,asa“fortresschurch”,itssalienttraitsuntouchedbymodernization)itsposition
andtaskinthecontemporarysocialorder.
Toevaluatethematterofdemocratizationofthechurchstructuresitisessentialto
makeaconsiderationofthreeelementsinsuchanorder:1)meaningofdemocracyas
notmerelyaprocedureofvotingandelectingbutalsoasasocialsystemandamean
oflegitimization;2)hierarchical-democraticaspectsofchurchauthorityandgovern-
anceinahistoricalglimpse;3)challengeofaccountabilityasanoutcomeofthelatest
abusecrisisbasedonthecaseofIreland.
10Democracywithintheframeworkofaninstitutionalreligion
Thequestionofhowreligioustraditionsaffectthepossibilityofefficaciousdemocra-
tizationhasbeendebatedforacoupleofdecades.Avastliteraturehasanalyzedrela-
tionsbetweenreligions,amongthemChristianityinparticular,andpoliticalculture
2
JohnPaulII,EncyclicalLetternCentesimusAnnus”,Rome1991,§46.
3
PontificalCouncilforJusticeandPeace,CompendiumoftheSocialDoctrineoftheCatholic
Church,Rome2004,§395.
4
J.Habermas,LegitimationCrisis,Boston1975,p.25,149n.
