[Taggart_D]

[...the implication is that anybody who defends Christian orthodoxy is now excluded from public life...]

Not much has changed in the last 2004 years.

[rdcorso]

I was real disgusted with the statement from the Pope about the death of Yasar Arafat.I don't know if the words came out of the popes mouth but who ever said them should be slapped.It was bad enough that the media turned him into a saint and the politicians,especially France praised him as a real hero fighting for peace.The sad part is if Bin Laden were to play the politician and continue to kill behind the scenes like Arafat he would get the same treatment.