> Those who disagree with the Conventional Wisdom are not free to speak their opinion honestly. When I have dared to ask for open discussion, I am greeted with the same hostility...

Joe, this is the internet. Of course you are free to speak your opinion honestly. No one is stopping you. It's just that no one is agreeing with you. That's not the same thing. You say you have "dared" to ask for open discussion - well, you got it. We have been open, and we have been honest.

There's quite a diversity of people posting here, from both sides of the Atlantic, and your call to disregard the Church's shameful past and only focus on the present is simply not being supported, for excellent reasons which have been outlined at length above. As for mobs carrying bludgeons, get a reality check. A mob is a crowd of people who are physically in one place at one time, fuelled by a consolidated, focused energy which can certainly be dangerous. By contrast, we are spread out all over the world, writing over a period of days, with plenty of room for anyone to dispute what we say, and no one is threatening you. It's a false and overly-dramatic analogy. It also sounds a little paranoid.

We have been speaking honestly, and we are not a mob. We're simply a bunch of individuals airing our minds freely, in a forum designed for exactly that purpose. I think your real problem with this thread is that no one else shares your views. There's equal space here for a "counter mob" to build up in favour of your stance (would they still be a "mob" if they were on your side?) but no one has come forward. That doesn't mean you're being persecuted.

"No middle ground on this forum"? There's any ground anyone wants to stand on. That's the nature of free speech and the nature of the internet. Your call to turn away - i.e. refuse to face - the Church's evil past and "stop beating a dead horse" is unpopular because many of us think it's a cop-out. That's why you don't get the support. And when you don't, you blame us for being a bludgeon-carrying mob who can't hold an honest open discussion. We've been honest. We've been open. Maybe it's you being paranoid, and calling us names rather than facing the truth - that your position is isolated because people don't share your feelings.