"Great piece. I would suggest that the idea of "WebMD Catholicism" is part of a long trend -- going way back before the Internet -- towards "Protestantization" of North American Catholicism. By Protestantization, I mean the idea that tradition and institution count for very little next to the fact that anyone can pick up and read the "authoritative" primary texts on his or her own.  To me, this is a very Protestant ("sola scriptura") idea. (I realize these texts aren't scriptural, but my impression is that the sola scriptura idea has gradually bled over into other texts too. For many people, if something is written down, it automatically assumes a kind of fixed and static authority that seems to trump what any mere person might say, regardless of the fact that those texts originate with persons, traditions, and institutions themselves.)" - Nathan Rein