I've been disheartened at the response of some here at dKos to the death of the Pope. Many here at dKos, including myself, we respect the sorrow many of his Millions of followers feel. Yet other take this time of pain for so many to attack The Catholic Church at it's moment of greatest sorrow.
I do not defend much of the Church's history and certainly disagree with much of the Pope's social agenda as enunciated by the Vatican. Yet here was a man trying to spread peace...counseling non-violence...and traveling over 100 times throughout the world to spread that message.
If another major Church leader, of ANY church,were to die I would not take that opportunity to take my personal partisan shots at that church. I would respect the grief of that church's following & members and wait for a more appropriate time.
The visceral hatred implied by many of the diaries, and replies to diaries, here in the last hours and days mirror, I'm afraid, the hatred and fanaticism we saw from The American Taliban in Florida. That's just inappropriate here as it was there and I hope unintended.
We all, very likely, have some disagreement with the dogma of almost any church. And the Catholic Church involving millions of priests,nuns and lay people is a particularly easy target.
Yet Religious Tolerance (not necessarily agreement)is a foundation American Value.
Finding the appropriate time to voice one of the other foundation values, Freedom of Speech, takes discipline and effort.
Hatred of Religion in general is each person's choice yet it does us no good here a dKos to use a church leaders death to lead us into a convulsion of Anti-Catholic (at least) and, perhaps Anti-organized religion in general, outpourings of anger and venom.
Religous Intolerance is no more acceptable from the Left or Middle than it is on the Extreme Right.
As a matter of disclosure I am not a member of any organized religion. I am not Catholic.
I am Pod/blogcasting on the topic at my blog.