"I believe George Bush's religious views are genuine," Cardinal Karl Lehmann, head of the German Bishop's Conference, told the Catholic weekly Rheinischer Merkur in an interview on Thursday. "But this careless way of using religious language is not acceptable anymore in today's world." In Sweden, invoking God in politics is so unusual that parliamentarian Hans Lindqvist told Reuters: "I've never seen anything like this before."

Perhaps a little history lesson is in order. Here is the conclusion to the president's inaugural speech:

And so, my fellow Americans, as we stand at the edge of the 21st Century, let us begin anew, with energy and hope, with faith and discipline, and let us work until our work is done. The Scripture says: "And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." From this joyful mountaintop of celebration we hear a call to service in the valley. We have heard the trumpets, we have changed the guard, and now each in our own way, and with God's help, we must answer the call. Thank you, and God bless you all!

That would tend to bolster their position, except for one fact: This was the wind-up of Bill Clinton's inaugural speech from January, 1993. I don't recall hearing the same concerns expressed by Jacques Chirac or the Belgian foreign minister. The fact is every US president makes reference to God from time to time. While I believe Bush's personal faith is authentic, it is insulting to suggest that his faith invades policy or that his "fundamentalism," as the report calls it, is comparable to terrorists. Le Monde goes so far as to simply lump Bush and Saddam Hussein together in the same accusation of "gross misuse of religion." Utter nonsense.

What is most striking is that the French are completely silent about a true "gross misuse of religion" that occurs with alarming frequency in their own back yard. What do Chirac and Le Monde have to say about this? Or this? Or this?