That kid should have stayed away from Catholic ceremonies. Catholics have been pretty clear about who is invited to participate in their rituals, and for him to intrude under false pretenses was disrespectful of the people involved. I don’t think that he stole the wafer but he did obtain it by misrepresenting himself.

Ideas, on the other hand, do not have an a priori right to respect. Here in the 21st century, cannibalistic rituals and magical incantations that transform one substance to another both have fallen somewhat into disrepute, so when people hear about practices that, on the surface at least, sound very similar, those practices are likely to attract criticism. Or ridicule. That doesn’t necessarily reflect hatred of a group. It’s just the marketplace of ideas.

Having wiled away some time thinking about the situation, my position is this:

The church has certain expectations about their activities and the people who participate in them. They have every right to have those expectations. I will even grant that the expectations can rise to the level of rules within the church. In this case, breaking that rule was not a crime. Even if it was (which I am by no means conceding), it was not a hate crime, because, in order to be such, the crime (usually one of violence or implied violence) must be motivated by a negative feeling or bias against the church. In this case, a non-Catholic friend wondered what a wafer looked like. Instead of going to Google, this idiot decided to keep his wafer instead of eating it at the appropriate time. Was it a dumb thing to do? Yes. Should the church be unhappy? Maybe (not a Catholic, hard to judge) Should the church be THIS unhappy as to accuse the kid of a hate crime? No.

That kid should have stayed away from Catholic ceremonies. Catholics have been pretty clear about who is invited to participate in their rituals, and for him to intrude under false pretenses was disrespectful of the people involved. I don’t think that he stole the wafer but he did obtain it by misrepresenting himself.

Was he not Catholic? I thought that he was.

I don't think The Church accused him of a hate crime though, did they? I think it was just The Catholic League.

Now all Myers needs to do is get the Church of Satan to transubstantiate some Cheese Whiz into the Body of Satan....

I thought Cheese Whiz was already the Body of Satan.

Well, He does always forget the baking soda.

God told him to. It's unleavened bread, except when, as was also true at the church I went to in south Georgia, the host is cubes of Wonderbread.

Oyster crackers for us.

God told him to. It's unleavened bread, except when, as was also true at the church I went to in south Georgia, the host is cubes of Wonderbread.

was it a catholic church? I'm baptist, and we believe that any bread will do as long as its properly consecrated. Of course we also stay in our seats and don't care if you're peckish, not baptist.

IOMostlyUnrelatedN, The White House is Cursed!

For instance, I believe there presently is a divine curse on the White House. Why? Because President George W. Bush placed the Koran in that house's library. The occasion was a much-celebrated Ramadan dinner where both Muslim males and females were guests.

With much fanfare Mr. Bush announced his placing the Koran in the White House library.

Taking biblical data into consideration, one can conclude that God was very angry at that move. I believe He has brought a curse the White House because of placing the Koran alongside the Bible in the White House library. God cannot tolerate those who place other gods alongside Him.

Even if it was (which I am by no means conceding), it was not a hate crime, because, in order to be such, the crime (usually one of violence or implied violence) must be motivated by a negative feeling or bias against the church. In this case, a non-Catholic friend wondered what a wafer looked like.

And again, this is what make the whole concept difficult for me. You seem to be saying that if this same act (taking the wafer) was motivated because the guy hated the Church it should be treated differently. Personally, as a juror, I don't want to have to make those distinctions based on what may or may not have been in someone's mind.

To go back to Trudy's example, if you stab someone in an argument, maybe you have been thinking about it for weeks, maybe it was partly because they were gay, black, etc., I really can't know.

If you want to make burning a cross a specific crime with a specific punishment (for historical reasons, as representing a threat, whatever), I don't have a problem with that.

God cannot tolerate those who place other gods alongside Him.

Dumbass, read your bible. It's "Thou shalt have no other gods before me", not alongside or behind