Vatican Warns Churches About Autonomy Moves

Coming down hard on attempts by local churches to seek autonomy from Rome, the Vatican warned Monday against “erroneous interpretations” that view the Catholic Church as the “sum of the particular churches or as a federation of churches.”

The 20-page document reflects the Vatican’s growing worry about a grass-roots theology that sees centralized religion as unnecessary and about attempts by some local churches to emphasize social and cultural diversity and distance themselves from Rome.