[Desdemona]

I’ve never figured out why a sign or gesture that accompanies the words “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” would invoke such vitriol. And, yes, it is taught at the dinner table from the time we are about two, but so are a lot of things.

[Petronski]

I’ve never figured out why a sign or gesture that accompanies the words “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” would invoke such vitriol.

It's because the Sign of the Cross does not fit in their own personal interpretation of Scripture and, you must remember, THEY ARE RIGHT! donchaknow...

Disagreement with such a person is a scam and if you disagree with them, you are in on it [cue sinister music].

[Lorica]

I’ve never figured out why a sign or gesture that accompanies the words “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” would invoke such vitriol.

Satan hates the cross in all its forms. The Church has known this for a long, long time:

Let us, therefore, not be ashamed of the Cross of Christ; but though another hide it, do thou openly seal it upon thy forehead, that the devils may behold the royal sign and flee trembling far away. Make then this sign at eating and drinking, at sitting, at lying down, at rising up, at speaking, at walking: in a word, at every act.
St. Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem (d. A.D. 386)