My last comment on this thread is that I am an atheist who respects Christianity, and I guess being around so many atheists (I used to work in Cambridge, MA) and hearing their intense, blinding hatred when they thought they were speaking to "one of them," well, it has given me a good eye.
No one is denying the sins of the church regarding the hideous crimes of priests against children. But that's often--very often--used as a shield to protect religious bigots in their bashing. A lot of them have a certain glee at such stories, which makes them pretty awful people in my eyes. They seem GLAD on some level that these crimes happened, as it gives their own hatred and bigotry cover.
Merry Christmas.
Excellent post!
Some priests are monsters and they should be locked away forever. However, the same is also true of some police officers, some doctors, some teachers, etc. However, as evil as these men are, it is morally indefensible to denounce all members of a noble profession for the crimes of a few.
And I agree, it does seem as if there are some around here who are actually HAPPY about these crimes, if only because they believe it somehow validates their bigotry.