Blessed Are The Persecuted

Standing Against "Cancel Culture" in the Church

Photo by Martin Jernberg on Unsplash

Editor's Note: Life happens—our gospel reflection didn’t arrive in your inbox this morning. We do have this reflection written by Christina M. Sorrentino on cancel culture in the Church for you to read!

-Blessings, Phillip

It is difficult to say this, but I have come to realize that even within our own Church, there is a kind of “cancel culture”. It shows up quietly, sometimes almost invisibly, but it is undoubtedly present. People who love the faith and simply want to hold on to what the Church has always taught about life, marriage, the sacraments, and even sin and salvation often find themselves ignored, criticized, or quietly pushed aside. The hardest part is that it is not usually outsiders offering condemnation, but rather priests, bishops, and even fellow Catholics who have grown more comfortable with the ways of the world than with the demands of the Gospel.

Too many priests and bishops appear to simply remain in silence and instead tell stories during their homilies that barely even connect to the Gospel, and when they do it is the easy part of the Gospel, not the part that challenges us. I have left Mass many times wondering what the point was of the story, and felt cheated out of receiving the true message of that particular Gospel. The people need the truth to save their souls. How does a watered down version of Christ’s message save souls? If it is too harsh of a message, it seems to simply be dismissed out of fear of being “cancelled”. The truth does offend at times, but was Jesus not killed for speaking the truth? Christianity is not about feeling warm and fuzzy inside, but about saving souls, even if it means facing persecution from within the Catholic Church. The Church’s mission is supposed to be saving souls.

When you speak the truth, even with love, the labels come quickly; rigid, divisive, judgmental. The fact of the matter is that the truth is not uncharitable. It is not divisive to speak the words of Christ, even when those words make people feel uncomfortable and uneasy. Jesus Himself told us, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first” (John 15:18). What I was not prepared for was how much it would hurt when that hostility comes from within the family of faith, especially from members of the clergy or the laity from your own local parishes. I have seen it, and I have felt it within my heart, especially when sharing the truth about what we believe as Catholics on social media.

I am led to find comfort in the stories of the Saints, such as Saint Athanasius, during the Arian heresy. He was not celebrated for his courage, but instead exiled, accused, and betrayed by his own people. Saint Paul’s words keep coming back to me: “Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? … If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). Those words hit hard because they are so very and absolutely true. Faithfulness to God has never been about winning the approval of others. It has always been about obedience and love, even when it costs something, even when it results in our fellow Catholics trying to “cancel” us for speaking the truth.

Prayer has been my lifeline during times when I feel scorned for speaking the truth, especially when I write about our faith as Catholics. When I feel tired or discouraged, I think of Christ, “spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, knowing pain” (Isaiah 53:3). He knows the Cross, and He embraced it. When I start to doubt, I remember the boldness of Saint Catherine of Siena, who said, “We've had enough exhortations to be silent. Cry out with a thousand tongues - I see the world is rotten because of silence.” Her words remind me that silence is not holiness if it means abandoning the truth. Real love, real charity, tells the truth even when the cost is high.

The older I get, the more I see that truth is never measured by how many people approve of you. It is measured by fidelity, by clinging to Christ and His Church even when the road is lonely and steep. The Saints understood this better than anyone. They knew that standing with Christ sometimes meant standing alone. But they also knew the peace and even the joy of sharing in His victory. “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).

When I start to feel overwhelmed, I try to rest in His promise: “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). That promise means everything to me because Christ has not abandoned His Church; He never will. My most heartfelt prayer is to keep going in times of adversity, to stay faithful, to keep speaking the truth with clarity but also with love, and to pray for the grace to forgive my fellow Catholic brothers and sisters who oppose me. The Church does not need more silence or compromise. She needs faithful hearts willing to pray, to speak, and, if necessary, to suffer, trusting that in the end, truth will always prevail because Christ has already conquered the world.