The Transcript
Recently, the message “Catholics are dangerous” has stirred controversy in various corners of the internet. Some comments and direct messages have accused me of being proud… even boastful. One person went so far as to insist that it isn’t the faithful who are dangerous — it’s the world that is dangerous.
But what’s behind that response? It reflects a spirit of defeatism and fear — a victim mentality that has become characteristic of our age, and one that has even made its way into the Catholic community.
We are living in a time when people are so culturally separated from Jesus Christ that they have also become separated from the reality of the victory He has already won for us by His Cross.
Being dangerous does not mean being hostile. It means opposing the world, the flesh, and the devil in the name of Jesus Christ. God is a winner. Jesus Christ is the Father’s champion. And those who align themselves with Him in faith and in truth not only have nothing to fear in this world — the fallen world has reason to fear the witness of faithful Catholics.
Why do you think churches are vandalized? Why do you think some countries attempt to restrict the expression of religion? Do you think those efforts are directed equally at every religion? Do you really think vague spirituality provokes this kind of resistance?
No.
Again and again, social and legal pressure eventually focuses itself most directly on the Catholic Church — because Catholicism, when lived seriously, refuses to conform itself to the spirit of the age. Catholics are dangerous to a fallen world precisely because we belong to Jesus Christ.
Our Lord came into the world as light in the darkness, and He was rejected because many prefer darkness. As Saint Paul says in Philippians, we are meant to live in the midst of a crooked generation, shining like stars in the dark sky. That is not the description of a timid people.
It is time to get over this victim mentality. It is holding too many Catholics back from courage, and it is holding too many Catholics back from excellence in holiness.
If we are with Christ, who can be against us? To take Christianity seriously is to accept that we will sometimes stand in opposition to a fallen world.
Jesus Christ Himself was dangerous — dangerous enough that people insisted He should die. If Christ was dangerous to darkness, and if we are called to become like Him, then we should not be surprised that faithful Catholics will also be considered dangerous.
Not violent. Not hateful. But so clearly aligned with truth, and reflecting the light of Christ so distinctly, that we stand in visible opposition to a fallen world that still chooses Barabbas, and still chooses to do the work of its father the devil.
Stay dangerous, Catholics. God wills it.
