Where Are the Pope's Silent Shepherds?

That's the title of my latest column in the Washington Examiner. Why, I ask, has most of the American Church hierarchy failed to support Benedict in the fallout of his comments on Islam at the University of Regensburg?

Because they're afraid of losing stature in the elite social and intellectual circles in which they move, I argue. In Europe, their counterparts could sincerely claim that the possibility of violence might cause them to parse their words--not that they should do that even then.

But here, cultural and intellectual nihilism have created an atmosphere in which frank talk about Islam (and a host of other topics) is forbidden.

Here's hoping that these clerics prove me wrong, and soon.

Update: Others treating this topic today include Jonah Goldberg, also in the Examiner, and Reuel Gerecht, who has a superb piece in the WSJ.

George Will's column on Ayaan Hirsi Ali echoes some points I made two weeks ago in the Examiner.