It is hard to know which is the most urgent challenge facing the Church today. Is it celibacy, the shortage of clergy, married priests, the fragility of marriage itself, the role of women, democratic governance, a new attitude to sexual morality, falling Mass attendance? Others might see it as a seeming inability to relate to young people among whom are high rates of depression and suicide, increasing violent crime and a disinterest in organised religion. What about the Church’s role in ensuring a greater sharing of wealth among all the citizens, combatting the deterioration of the environment and addressing the causes and results of mass migrations?