In today’s world, which is a world of passion, the dictatorship of relativism, postmodern thought, post-truth, etc., has a strong echo. For many, the truth is devalued. It is understandable, then, that many ideologies routinely make use of falsehood and lies. Thus, their “information programs” are, in reality, mere means of manipulation.

Every day we encounter, in many places around the world, influential ideological currents that possess the following five characteristics. First, for them, the only thing that counts is what their group says, and only because they have said it, whether what they have affirmed is true or good. Second, they are deeply contrary to some important ethical principles. Many of them promote the culture of death, and, in particular, induced abortion. Not infrequently, they lack religious or theistic principles. Third, they greatly influence power, politics, economics, and journalism. This allows them to manipulate: they respect neither truth nor goodness. Fourth, to succeed, they rely on impositions, pressure, force, harassment, and overthrow of the opponent, demagoguery and paganization, etc., instead of truth and goodness. Fifth, sometimes, as in campaign promises, for example, they resort to lies.

Christian doctrine, in sharp contrast to this, serves truth and goodness. The Catholic religion possesses the fullness of moral truth. The Catholic Church is the principal defender of life. Hence, for example, it condemns induced abortion.

It is not surprising, then, that some of these ideologies clash with the Church. Dressed in sheep’s clothing, they attack her not for reasons of truth and goodness, but because she, unlike them, defends truth, morality, and the right to life.

With their attacks, they seek, rather than denouncing those specific Catholics who have committed crimes, which would be insufficient for them, to make the Church itself the main defendant. In this grand trial against the Church, what they want to achieve is to make people believe that many serious evils occur in the Church and in the Catholic religion. Their criticisms are unfair and illogical, since they are purely negative and unwilling to accept that there is anything positive in the Church. They cannot claim that if a few have committed crimes, then all have committed crimes, as that would reveal the falsity of their assertion. But then they adopt a tactic that does a great deal of harm: suspicion. They have the audacity to create a widespread suspicion that there is much more evil and much more widespread than there really is. This way, the Church’s appeal and interest are not perceived, and people do not run after its perfumes, after the sweet smell of Christ. Even more, the Church is discredited and rejected. Added to this is the fact that some people feel that supernatural faith is a strange and alien addition to the human condition. This leads many naive people, lacking a critical spirit, to live outside the Church.

But this anticlerical persecution is very curious. The odds are not in favor of things being as they want them to be.

Indeed, the reality is that Christ preached the purest morality. The Catholic religion is the truth. Anyone who allows themselves to be shaped by faith is a saint. Everyone recognizes the greatness of saints such as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, who are mere fruits of the Catholic Church. The true face of the Church is the saints. Furthermore, Christ, most holy, God-Man, the Savior of the world, is the founder and head of the Church, which is his Body and his Bride. The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church. Thus, the holy Church is inseparable from the infinite splendor of divinity. And Christ, having ascended to heaven, left the Church as the continuator of his work of salvation. Man, therefore, ultimately finds his goodness and perfection in the Catholic religion and in the Church. A glance at the world is enough to see that the Church is a source in the midst of a desert.

Furthermore, history shows that the best theocentric humanism, that is, Christianity, has made society more humane from its origins.

Even among many less fervent Catholics, more ethical principles and good morals are preserved than among many other human beings. Although they have lowered their stature to a degree of that religion, it turns out that, given its height, they still inherit a great deal. Furthermore, if a Christian acts wrongly, it is not because they are Christian, but because they are not Christian in that regard, that is, because they have acted against a Christian rule. Statistically, it is evident that in the areas where the Catholic Church has recently been most criticized, only a minority of Catholics committed crimes, and this crime has occurred much less frequently than in other groups.

History also shows that, as a society becomes de-Christianized, crime increases sharply. Likewise, the so-called “death of God” has led to the “death of man.” 20th-century man, who believed himself independent of God, was the cause of the world wars.

Furthermore, it sometimes happens that, when some public, political, or economic scandal arises in certain anticlerical ideologies, they resort, to divert attention, to attributing some evil act, whether real or fictitious, to the Church, trusting in its meekness.

We see, then, that the Church is currently walking through many adversities. What is good is slandered. This, however, is also a sign of glory for it. For sowing truth and goodness in this world is not a path without many obstacles. Christ, for having done this very thing, was crucified. If this was the case with Him, this was to be the case with the Church, which follows in His ways. For the disciple is no more than the teacher. This, then, is natural and logical. The Church simply continues to hold the cross high.

Those who attack her forget that He, whose heart was pierced by a lance, has risen, and that, with His almighty power, He helps the Church, against whom the gates of hell will not prevail. Yes, there are tribulations, but there is the Holy Spirit! For this reason, the Church has a future. Not so her attackers, who only rush toward their own defeat. Awaken from your sleep, the naive! Everyone who belongs to the truth hears the voice of Christ!