Le Retour des certitudes Book

The author spent 7 years as a seminarian, then left the Church only to return after 20 years. He has written several books on the papacy. This book is his look at the Catholic Church in current times and the problems it faced in the new century. The Church had a divide between conservative and progressive factions. The conservative wing wants the Church to be a top down hierarchy with the pope as the sole determinant in all facets of the Church. The progressive wing wants more decentralization of the Church giving bishops and laity more say in doctrinal issues and how the Church operates.
The main issues of division are the power of the Curia, the role of women including becoming priests, intellectual freedom to question doctrine and the issues of sexual nature. This last category has many facet: the sex abuse scandals, divorce, gay rights, contraception and premarital sex. The current pope has ruled against the use of condoms even to prevent the spread of HIV/ AIDS. This has severely contributed to the spread of the disease in Africa and other third world countries. The refusal to accept divorce has lead to the banning of the sacraments to divorced or remarried laity.
The Church is also suffering from the reduced interest in becoming priests or joining religious orders. This is a problem facing many denominations today.
The author suggests that the Church must change how it operates if it is to continue as a universal body.