excoriate

The Japan Times Online, August 12, 2011の記事タイトルに知らない単語がありました。
Ireland excoriates Vatican over new reports of abuse
"excoriates" の意味は分かりませんが記事を読んでみます。
記事を書いたのはKevin Rafferty (is a former editor of The Universe, the leading Catholic newspaper) で、カトリックの司祭による子供などの虐待に対するローマ法王の怠慢を非難しています。従って、"excoriate" は非難とほぼ同じ意味だと分かります。記事の最後のパラグラフを引用します。
If the Roman Catholic Church cannot protect the youngest, weakest and innocent of its members from abuse at the hands of its clerics while the abusers themselves are protected by its prelates, what hope or faith can anyone have in the church or believe any of its claims to truth or goodness?
宗教も人が創ったものなので（神が創ったものではありません）、どこかの国の企業、公的機関、警察などの隠蔽体質と同じ機能を備えていても不思議ではありません。　
さて、一応 "excoriate" を辞書で確認します。
・American Heritage Dictionary: To censure strongly; denounce: an editorial that excoriated the administration for its inaction.
・Cambridge Dictionaries Online: to state the opinion that a play, a book, a political action, etc. is very bad: His latest novel received excoriating reviews.: The President excoriated the Western press for their biased views.
・Vocabulary.com: express strong disapproval of
最後に引用した辞書に書かれていた次ぎの説明は "excoriate" のニュアンスが良く分かります。
When it comes to “telling someone off,” excoriate is reserved for the most severe cases. So, before you excoriate your little sister for borrowing your favorite jacket without permission, consider whether she truly deserves such harsh treatment.
If you excoriate someone, you let that person know that you really, really disagree with them. This verb goes beyond mere criticism; it implies anger, a harsh and insulting tone, and even a scathing attack. Synonyms of excoriate include denounce, decry, and condemn. In a medical sense, excoriate means “to tear skin off by chafing.” A bad rug burn can excoriate your skin. If someone excoriates you verbally, it might make you feel like you’ve been physically excoriated.
"excoriate" は単なる非難ではなく、強く、激しく非難しているのですね。耳が痛い程度の非難ではなく、やけどで皮膚がただれる程の痛みを感じなくてはいけない様だ。