Macro/micro: Eno, you make a great point about religion being arduous. Clearly, without sacrifice, the Catholic Church is nothing. For that matter, any religion worth a farthing has to impose some tough restrictions (i.e. Scientology - you're not allowed to keep any of your money).

My point was more on the macro stage, however. It's not about the hypocrisy of the individual ("I'm a Catholic, but Jesus was just a great guy; hardly the son of God."), but about the hypocrisy of the Church. I'd argue that any Bishop who covered up the pedophilia, whether out of bad will or a mis-guided attempt to look out for "everyone's best interests" should not only be denied communion, but be de-frocked while you're at it. We don't need to pile on the excesses of the Church of centuries ago when it was perfectly fine to kill and steal in "the name of the Lord". We can do just fine with what we have.

My point is that the Catholic Church, for all its love of proclamations and censure, had better turn the magnifying glass on itself first. Holier than thou, indeed.