When I was a missionary is Kenya there was a story told to me about the 1920s and big game hunting in Trans-Mara and the coastal regions.  The gist of the story is that the “great white hunters” had to be reminded – even if they had made the perfect killing shot on a charging rhinoceros, they had to move out of the way.  Even though the animal was technically dead, that message had not gotten to the rest of the beast.  And it was the momentum of the rest of the beast that could still run you over.

That story came to mind reading Ross Douthat – a NY Times columnist – as he paints a sober picture of the institutional (and sometimes insider) momentum that will drag at the edges of any reform movement or efforts on the part of Pope Francis. Lifting the Shadow of Scandal – NYTimes.com.