Roman Catholic Church Corp.?

I just read the most bizarre article. The Economist did a feature on a possible merger between the Catholic and Anglican churches using the language of well, business. The baptized are "consumers," the pope is "chief executive," the rest of the clergy is "management" (broken down into "senior executives" and "line managers").

While the concept of the Catholic Church as a business empire certainly isn't alien to me (I am a Catholic Filipino, after all), it was just so strange to actually read the words "church," "business model," and "corporation" in the same paragraph. And the reference to Catholicism as a "brand" just threw me off, prompting me to write this immediately. The marketer in me says, "Well, of course it's a brand, just as you are a brand," but the Catholic school girl is still in a bit of a shock.

Don't get me wrong, I take no offense. I'm more amused than anything. It's just such an unexpected perspective. It totally caught me offguard. Anyways... speaking of the Catholic Church, I have an early mass tomorrow so am off to bed.

Read the full text of the article here: http://www.economist.com/daily/news/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=8729581