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What would the world have been like today if the Reformation had not happened? Would it really have been a better Church and a better world? And how, indeed, can we evaluate these enormous historical events?
The first thing to note about this 500th anniversary of the Reformation is that it is the first centenary celebration or commemoration that we have been able to share together and without rancour.
If the Church is to be a school for holiness it must reassure Catholics above all that it is a safe school. In schools, this normally demands a change of culture to shift focus from reputation and power to the dignity, growth and empowerment of students. In the Church it will mean dealing decisively with the abuse of power by clergy.
The crisis facing the Church arising out of sexual abuse is arguably the most serious challenge it has faced since the Reformation. Issues such as authoritarianism, compulsory celibacy, the participation of women and the teaching on sexuality cannot be brushed aside.
Kevin Rudd's visit to Jakarta today and continued inter-cultural dialogue could do much to enrich Australia's friendship with Indonesia. Indonesia's labelling as a basket case of corruption and terrorism denies the significant strides the country has taken since its democratic reformation.
Peter Matheson is a leading scholar of 16th Century Reformations, based in New Zealand.
Charles Sherlock on the progress being made towards a reformation of the Catholic and Anglican churches.
John Paul II’s world was the post-Reformation Church, seen from a Polish perspective. Benedict XVI is rooted in the Catholic Church before the Reformation, reflecting the subjects of his academic dissertations - Bonaventure and Augustine - who were masters in the exploration of symbols.