Losing touch, and possibly some relevance, in this day and age? The Vatican, seat of the Roman Catholic leadership: a few weeks ago, there were rumors that the Catholic church would deny John Kerry communion, presumably for his pro-choice stand. Lately, the Vatican has been in the thick of controversy, first by warning against marriage with Muslims:

When "a Catholic woman and a Muslim wish to marry," the document says, "bitter experience teaches us that a particularly careful and in-depth preparation is called for."

It also says "profound cultural and religious differences" exist between the two faiths, particularly concerning the rights of women, who are referred to as "the least protected member of the Muslim family."

then the sainthood of Giana Beretta Molla, an Italian pediatrician who died a week after giving birth to her fourth child, even under advisement from her doctors that it would be dangerous to proceed with the pregnancy because she had a tumor in her uterus. Her "extreme sacrifice" (and her anti-abortion stance) was praised for its "simple and profound message"

And, after the Vatican's criticism on the "pranks" in Abu Ghraib, a Rep. Peter King (D-NY) had this to say about the Catholic leadership:

Whatever the United States has done to prisoners in Iraq is nothing compared to what priests and nuns did to Catholic kids for decades while the Catholic hierarchy covered it up,'' King said. ``Think of the thousands of kids in the U.S. and Ireland who were abused by priests and nuns - you wonder where the Vatican's moral compass is.

This amidst the upcoming June 4 Bush-Pope John Paul II visit.

Informed sources in Rome said Iraq and the Middle East would be at the top of the discussion agenda. It will be the third meeting between the two leaders, and the first since the start of the Iraq war, which was strongly opposed by the pope and his aides.

Vatican officials have said for months it would be unusual for a pope to meet with a sitting president during a re-election campaign, because of the risk that it could be seen as partisan. But after careful consideration, the reasons for such a meeting prevailed over the Vatican's usual caution, a Vatican official said.

These days, it seems, everyone's "lost the moral high ground".