Radical fundamentalists are the gateway to terror and terrorism. It does not matter whether the leader is a Moslem, nazi, fascist, communist, Roman Catholic, American. The only real diifference is the time it takes and the opportunity to get there.
It is a grave error, a deadly mistake, and reprehensibly misleading to excuse one , deny the reality, because s/he does not espouse the ideology of another. 
The confluence of radical fundamentallist leader, few rabid ideological opportunists , and suprisingly small mass of virulent, unquestioning "followers" - these constitute the maelstrom of terrorism.
When we become the enemy we seek to destroy the real enemy has won.
Can one imagine that one day, historians might reflect on the role of the Catholic hierarchy contribution to the demise of American freedom and its consequences.....?