Battered Beyond Repair?

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Two of the world's most influential religions are battered, perhaps, beyond repair. The pope refused to meet with some of the victims of priest abuse while in Toronto. His handlers said he didn't have time.

But this trip had been planned for months, and everybody in Rome knows that the scandal is the worst thing that has happened to the church ever in North America. So why wouldn't John Paul take 30 minutes to counsel some Catholics who had been hurt? Do you think Jesus would have rejected that request?

The incident points out the continuing trouble the Catholic Church is having in dealing with the reality of the priest scandal. Clear-thinking people know that most priests are good people and that the church does an enormous amount of charitable work.

But by failing to deal effectively with the child molestation by priests, the church has lost its moral authority.

Likewise, the Islamic religion has been severely damaged by the ongoing terrorism being done in its name. Millions of Americans remain appalled that no meaningful demonstrations have been held around the world by Muslims condemning terrorism.

We constantly hear the drumbeat of excuses justifying homicidal behavior by Islamic extremists. The silence by the Islamic leadership in the face of civilian murder is simply horrifying, and the excuse that a few imams have spoken out is bogus. Until the world sees huge demonstrations condemning the Usama bin Ladens of the world, Islam has lost credibility in the West.

The question is, can these religions recover in our lifetimes? We'll put that question to a couple of experts later on in the broadcast. But Talking Points says no, the damage is immense. Only a new reformer pope could restore the moral authority of Catholicism, and it would take him years. And only a genuine miracle could do the same for Islam in the West.

This, of course, is terrible news for the world, which needs moral guidance and strong religious establishments in order to spread peace and harmony. The absence of strong spiritual voices will be devastating to a world already steeped in hatred and greed.

Think about it. The bad guys have hijacked Islam, and the perverts and their enablers have crippled Catholicism.

That this would happen is truly incredible, but it has, and there's nothing any of us can do about it.

And that's the memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

As you all know, it's a huge annoyance to go through airport security these days, because personal items are sometimes put on public display by vigilant airline security screeners. In Clearwater, Florida, a woman is suing Delta Airlines, saying she was publicly humiliated when an item in her luggage began vibrating. Perhaps it was a blender.

I'm not up on these kinds of things, but Renee Koutsouradis says three male adult employees began laughing hysterically. Renee says this was gender discrimination. And what that has to do with the blender, I have no idea. But my radar says this is ridiculous. And if Renee was humiliated when three guys saw what she was carrying, imagine how she feels now when the whole world knows.

— You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com