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Is Pope Benedict turning back Catholic clock?
"Critics say Pope Benedict, in several recent controversial moves, is turning the Roman Catholic Church's clock back by half a century and alienating Muslims, Jews and Protestants in the process.
Supporters say that by allowing a wider use of the Latin Mass and reasserting Catholic primacy over other religions, he is trying to revitalize his 1.1 billion-member church and prepare it for an uncertain future.
"Basically, what we are in the grip of at the moment, and Benedict is one of the engineers of this, is what I would call a strong re-assertion of traditional Catholic identity," said John Allen, author of several books on the church and the Vatican….
Some see a leaner, meaner Catholic Church in the future.
"The Vatican's calculation is that the retrenchment we are going through now may result in a smaller church but it will be a church that is more focused, more energetic, and in the long term that will pay off," said Allen.”
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