Fr Dwight Longenecker's Sobering Reflection on 'The Coming Persecution'

By Fr Dwight Longenecker
3/11/2012
Standing on My Head: Fr. Dwight Longenecker's Blog (gkupsidedown.blogspot.com/)

When things began to reach a crisis point most Catholics quietly stepped back from the fray.

There will be no martial law or military in the streets. That would appear to be so un-American! The officers who enforce the mandate will be lawyers in suits bearing legal documents. The battles will be in the courtroom. The penalties will seem just to the majority of people because we are in a democracy and those who disobey the law need to be punished, for it is the law of the land, and after all, if they had not done anything wrong they would not need to worry about anything!

The early Christian martyrs were accused of 'hatred of the human race' by ancient Rome

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GREENVILLE, SC (Standing on My Head) - So much talk amongst right wing Catholics of the erosion of religious liberty, the collapse of all things and the coming persecution. Talk of government detention centers and priests being shot like Bl. Miguel Pro.

I don't think they get it. That's not what it will be like.

America is different. We're into image big time. We thought the Soviets were into brainwashing and propaganda. We put them in the shade. America is all about healthy, lusty, good looking guys and gals who are clean cut, successful and smiling. We're into the good life. We're into being good and looking good, and if not the former at least the latter. We're into being the best, most successful and happy people in the world. Don't you know that??

To disobey the Mandate will seem so obstinate and unreasonable, for the State will not seek to close down any churches. Instead it will support the churches. Clergy training will be paid by the state. The church buildings will be maintained by a church tax which will be called the "tithe". Clergy will remain in their posts. Their dignity will be respected. All they will need to do is sign certain documents which ensure their safety and their freedom of worship in return for acknowledging the authority of the State (in civil matters only of course) These documents will be worded in such a way that a conscience clause will be admitted. The State will control the church "insofar as the law of God allows."

The State will bring in a sensible recognition of the validity of orders between the Christian churches. For practical reasons the Episcopalian priest or the Lutheran minister will be able to exchange ministries with the Catholic priest just as the Episcopalians and Lutherans already do. It will be a practical matter. Nothing theological will be implied for the Ministers of State would never presume to infringe on the theological aspect of the church. That would be above their pay grade. The orders will be interchangeable because the two churches are already so similar, and furthermore, many Episcopal priests are former Catholics and so have valid orders. This will smooth over the inconsistencies.

Many Catholic priests, after all, agree with the Episcopal doctrines and are in favor of married priests, women's ordination and homosexual marriage. Furthermore, the majority of the Catholics in the pews have no real problem with these things, and they see the sense of the government's re-organization of the religious life of the country. They never did like the noisy 'neo con' Catholics with their constant harping on about abortion and being homophobic and obsessed with sex. The government's solutions, it will be agreed, will bring peace to the whole situation. Common sense will prevail.

Oh there will be the complainers to be sure. They call them the 'recusants'. Cranky old homophobic, misogynistic priests--probably most of them secret pedophiles. The ones who are left are living off the grid. Most of the others are locked away for their own safety in the clergy 'retirement homes' that the government took over.

There will be pockets of resistance: Families here and there who are home schooling types--their girls in long denim skirts and their boys with combed hair and white shirts and ties. These "fundamentalists" will be called recusants. Some of the recusant families refuse to pay the "tithe" to maintain the churches and they are being fined and punished for their stupidity. These recusants harbor the priests and hide them away and think they are being martyrs for some great cause. The recusants will find it strangely difficult to get or keep a job. They'll end up impoverished and outside the mainstream.

In the meantime, most Americans will continue on happily. There have been no great revolutions. The economy did not collapse. There was no great world war. The Muslims did not attack America. Families still go to the Mall, eat out at their favorite restaurants, and enjoy all the great amusements and opportunities America has always had on offer.

They're still neat and snug in the suburbs, and the Catholics? They will remember the first signs of a fuss--over the HHS Mandate of 2012--but it was soon shown that the vast majority of Americans--Catholics included--were in favor of artificial contraception--and didn't really mind abortion that much. Furthermore, it was shown that a good number of ...

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1 - 10 of 56 Comments

Andy Taylor
1 year ago
This is a terrifying scene that you present. Why aren't you and other priests in our country standing up and speaking this from the pulpit? Are you willing to let this happen? We need our Catholic leaders; priests, bishops, cardinals and the Pope to stand up to all this nonsense.

You say there will not be a revolution. I say that you may see one. I agree that there are many Catholics who agree with the government and most of our our schools, from the 1st grade through college, are teaching our children to accept all this. We all need to stand up and be counted among the people who will not accept this and work hard for change. This starts with getting people elected that will go against the evil that is happening in this country.
Rob
1 year ago
JoAnn, when I was growing up we had neighbors who used to invite me to their church every week. We went to mass on Saturday nights so I used to go with them. While I knew there were definitely differences in the worship, I really didn't know about the whole protestant reformation thing. I'm glad I went there for so many years because sadly that is where I learned the scriptures and old fashioned hymns. But they used to dismiss the youth as well. I know the mega churches here do that as well. I don't know if any Catholic churches do that. That probably explains why your parish is hitting these topics so hard. That is a great idea. I will suggest that.
JoAnn
1 year ago
Rob: In my church, the children are dismissed right before the sermon. We have a special "Sunday School" set up at sermon time and all the children are called to join in with each other in a separate room for the teachings of Jesus on their own level. When the sermon is over, the children rejoin their parents for the rest of the Mass. Maybe you can suggest something like that in your parish. God bless.
Anna
1 year ago
The persecution of Christians- Catholics has always existed in some form or another throughout the world. What is happening now in America has been well reported by Father Longenecker, and hopefully the people of America will vote for the reinstatement of the Constitution as it was originally constructed. Most importantly, what must be emphasised is Trust in God, Hope in God, Follow His Commandments and Love God with all your heart. Do not forget to Fear God and you will never fear anything else in your life. The world is surrounded by evil, and successive governments everywhere have gradually corroded educational standards, professional values, and socio- political agendas in favour of "correctness" whereby many people are unable to distinguish wrong from right and it is easy to keep them in ignorance. May the Grace of God shine upon us all. I wish all Americans a peaceful, Christian election year.
Wes Lisitza
1 year ago
Well done, Father Longenecker. History is definitely repeating itself, where we are seeing a very interesting rendition of the schism that broke up the Church in England (and the establishment of the Anglican Protestant Church), and the aftermath of such favoritism of "National Religions". I think the most interesting point of all of this is that we Catholics in America have gotten it pretty easy in the global "Freedom of Religion" department. Currently, I'm not persecuted in the streets or at the tax office for being a Christian, but the day may come when everything that Father Longenecker says will come true (or some of it anyway). As a note, America is not the "Great Satan" as C Martel says it is. This country was founded on Christian ethics and morals (the Bible was once a requirement of academic reading). We have to remember that what is happening today is because it is God's Will that it happen to us; that suffering in this world is because people sin and turn from God. We have to owe up to the fact that the majority of Catholics (according to statistics) voted Obama into office, knowing all too well that he was an extremist on the abortion issue. And while our pulpits may have been silent (I know that there were none in the parishes that I live near), where were we, the laity, when our friends and family were caught up in the fervor of Obama-nation? Aren't we given mouths to speak with too? Tongues to set hearts aflame with passion for our Lord? I regard my faith as my heritage, and the Catechism calls us to seek Truth and defend it. We can't keep blaming our priests.
Rob
1 year ago
MF, I think I just see this differently. Sure, on it's face this action is a terrible affront to religious liberty. The process to reverse this mandate will not only be a test of religious liberty, but of our entire system of redress. But to Father's article, I don't know if this is about the government trying to take away religious freedom, or codify something that Christians by their own practice, have already accepted. Political rallies are great, but what about a rally to teach life in our parishes? Where is the battle cry to discipleship? I'm sorry, but I don't hear a peep about that.
JoAnn
1 year ago
Rita Ippolito: As in the words of Winston Churchill, "Never give up." Whether it works or not, we should do everything in our power to stand up for what we know to be true. Every faith has its "Judas." You can rest assured that the Church IS standing for the Truth. Pay no mind to the "rogues." They are not for Truth and God will deal with them someday. "As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord." When I stand before Jesus one day, I don't want Him asking me, why I was silent when He needed me most. "Not to speak, is to speak, not to stand, is to stand." God bless.
vance
1 year ago
Rita, It is not a waste of time if you are active in Church and Pro-Life activities. You will serve as an inspiration to others to become active as well. If you haven't already noticed, the Washington DC Walk-For-Life and the West Coast Walk-For-Life have grown from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands. They continue to grow every year. This is all credited to the Laity Faithful. This happened inspite of the Bishops and clergy, not because of them.
Rita Ippolito
1 year ago
I would like to ask a question of others who have commented and also of Fr Longenecker. Would it be simply a waste of our time, as Catholic Laity to be involved with Stand up for Religious Freedom and other groups organizing rallys throughout the US? Afterall, if the Catholic Church, meaning all Bishops and Clergy do not get fired up and become true warriors of truth, to protect Holy Mother Church, are we then just wasting our time in seeking ways of becoming more active for this cause, after we have prayed, fasted? I'd like to hear what you all think.
MF
1 year ago
You are correct, the fight will be fought in the courts. This is was the game plan all along. But the results will be just as deadly. Catholics all through the world are witnessing the country that gave humanity the Bill of Rights based on the Laws of Nature, at the doorstep of deleting the most important right of all, freedom of religion. Just as other countries have been inspired by the Bill of Rights, tyrants everywhere will be inspired by how America has taken away our most important right of all with the stroke of a pen. The sacrifice of Patriots for this genuine American gift to the world is being put a new test.

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