Where Do People Get Off?

I'm getting to the point where I'm real sick and tired of hearing political pundits tell me what the tenets of the Catholic Church should be. Does any other religion or denomination have to put up with this kind of crap? I don't see Op-Ed's in the New York Times telling Baptists what they should believe. I don't see articles in the New Republic telling Jews what is and isn't acceptable Jewish doctrine. But bring up the Catholic Church and all you hear is "Let me tell you something." What special dispensation exists for these non-experts (and largely non-Catholics) to stick their nose into the internal workings of someone else's faith?

Forget the seperation of Church and State. I'd settle for the seperation of Church and journalistic blow hards.