"...the dogma lives loudly within you.  And that's a concern."

Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), in seeking to disqualify Justice Amy Coney Barrett from  appointment to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals

“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first...but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you...‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you."  (John 15: 18-20)


No.  You're over-reacting.  It's in your head.  No one's persecuting you.  It's all about Separation of Church and State.  Who can be against Separation of Church and State?  And by "state", we mean "anywhere in public".  No one's saying you can't go to your church and go back home and pray.   We're saying when you take your religion into the workplace, into the political arena, into schools, onto picket lines, and even on the gridiron, you're doing harm to your fellow citizens.  Because no one asked for your Catholic opinion.  And no one should hear your Catholic opinion.  And you shouldn't have the power to -- check that, you shouldn't have power of any kind...
 

In 2018, then Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) sat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, contributing to the process of recommending or rejecting judicial appointments awaiting a full Senate vote.  Brian Buescher was the apointee vetted for a job on the Federal bench in Nebraska.  Ms. Harris asked the following:

"Since 1993, you have been a member of the Knights of Columbus, an all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men...Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose when you joined the organization?"

In today's rough and tumble political climate, it's easy to pass off this line of questioning as the cost of moving up the ladder, but questioning membership in one of the foremost charitable organizations in the United States due solely to its Catholic identity is an insidious step back to a more primitive time when Catholic were suspected of "popery" and bringing our "superstitions" over from Europe to the detriment of proper Anglo-Saxon America.   

Except now, instead of being accused of being in league with the Pope, Catholics are reviled for being in league with the Gospel, all together.  What comes next is already upon us: acceptable discrimination against adherents and overt destruction of the bricks and mortar and statuary that make up our houses of worship.  If you're afraid to chime in on that conversation at work, if you're keeping your social media presence limited to fake names and burner accounts, you're not alone. 

We don't know what will come next.  Only God knows.  But it's abundantly clear the last bulwark opposing the Gospel of Secular Humanism is the Catholic Church.  As a faithful people, we can't be intimidated by those individuals and groups slowly boiling the frog that is our First Amendment rights.  We can't give a pinch of incense in hopes of being eaten last by the Enemy.  We can't hide in shame that our Savior died on a Cross.  We won't ask forgiveness for proclaiming Christ the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  

Pray for those who persecute us, for they know not what they do.  Pray for those who've laid a trap, for the Psalms promise us they will fall in it themselves.  And keep your eyes on the prize.