Two Types of Pluralism and the Catholic Church Scandal

Lester compares and contrasts two possible justifications for the rights of associations, and examines the implications they have for the state's and media's actions during the recent Catholic Church's scandal. He describes the political pluralism of Alexis de Tocqueville and his followers, and suggests why it provides an inadequate basis for the autonomy of associations. Moreover, he also examines why John Neville Figgis's pluralism provides a more satisfactory basis for the autonomy of associations, and discusses the principles that he uses to determine when state intervention in associations is justified.