except for tender psyches like that of our beloved "free-thinker" Torquemada who has just told us--yet again-- that the very act of offering a prayer is an attack.

The situation is simple enough. In any situation an offer of prayer is entirely anomalous to sensible human communication. If that communication is between a nurse and her patient it becomes an abuse of a trust relationship founded, essentially on the vulnerability of a human being and the duty of the nurse to do her job. The issue is that no-one, least of all a vulnerable patient, should ever have to put in the position of having to refuse such an offer in the first place. Hence, the offer is a violation both of trust and common decency.