Oh, and I try to avoid current events because the news makes me cry, but if Enron and Global Crossings and, probably, Arthur Andersen can get (effectively or even literally) shut down for violating the trust of their clients, can we just shut down the Catholic Church, too? What would we do to any other institution that was an incubator for molestors? I’d much rather have someone mismanage my accounting than rape my child.

Addendum: Let me amend my suggestion to include one idea that I think should be discussed. We should eliminate the Catholic Church’s tax-exempt status. In recognition of their deep failings in protecting the public interest and living up to the trust instilled in them by not just the members of their church, but by the communities that they reside in, and due to the increased social, political, and financial costs of their destructively misanthropic self-absorbtion, it’s time they started playing on a level field. They have to pay their taxes just like the rest of us.

C’mon, fellow conservatives, are you for the free market or not? Are you for increased responsibility or not? Don’t you want to save the children? I sure do.