Comment 5 by Tom Glare :

I think it is a great shame that Professor Dawkins can not just allow Christians one day of harmless celebration without saying unpleasant things about them.

The BBC gave the pope a platform on which to speak to many in the UK and to many the world over who listen to the BBC. He made no effort to atone for wrongs the Catholic Church has committed, let alone rectify the consequences of these actions. Had he done so I, for one, would have praised him for this action. On the contrary he simple underlined the evil and corrupting doctrine of vicarious redemption which only makes sense in the context of the equally evil concept of original sin. What sort of loving God blames children for the sins of their fathers? And it is not as if the edulcoration of baptism truly purged us of our sins. No, we still have to worship and love this monster. If it is indeed liberation that the child born in Bethlehem brought us then I would rather be a slave.