Church faces rising anti-Catholicism

against them, American Catholics ardently demonstrated that their faith was not antithetical to being patriotic, loyal U.S. citizens.

They strove to fit in, serving in the military in higher numbers than their percentage of the population, becoming political and economic leaders on all levels, and offering the vast energies and resources of the church to serve the common good and the wider society. As a result, Catholics have “arrived” in America.

by the old Protestant prejudices, but rather by our moral stands concerning abortion, sexuality and gender. Those who push the pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality and pro-transgender agenda rightfully view the Catholic Church as the largest and most influential obstacle in their path of radical activism.

the Dodgers withdrew the invitation, only to reinstate it after an outcry from activists on the left.

European Protestant antipathy toward the tenets and power of the Catholic Church, centered in a rejection of papal authority, the importance of Mary and the saints, belief in the real presence in the Eucharist and the necessity of sacramental confession.

This traditional prejudice, coupled with the fact that the vast majority of immigrants flooding America’s shores in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were Catholic, fomented a virulent anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant hatred which became a nativist movement against anything perceived to be foreign to white, Protestant culture.

As a result of the prejudice and hatred

Today, 148 Catholics serve in Congress and six of the nine Supreme Court justices have some affiliation with the Catholic Church.

In many ways, Catholics have so blended into our society, reaching the pinnacles of power, affluence and influence, that their opinions and practices are indistinguishable from their fellow citizens. When it comes to religious and moral convictions, this homogenization is not a good thing.

A response to violence

This brief history lesson lends context to the current spate of attacks on the Catholic Church, a violence not principally fueled

Many, if not most, political leaders, media, social influencers, corporations and religious bodies have acquiesced before the power of this agenda. The Catholic Church has not.

With serenity, confidence and love, the church continues to proclaim and teach the truth concerning God and the human person.

Faithful Catholics will call out bigotry wherever they find it, even as contemporary cultural outrage remains highly selective and biased.

Recently, the Los Angeles Dodgers invited the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” a group that has consistently and blasphemously mocked Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the church, to be honored at their LGBTQ night at the ballpark.

After an outcry from conservatives,

Imagine any group which mocks Muslims, Jews or almost any other category of people besides Catholics, being publicly honored at a ballgame! It would never happen because the backlash would be mighty and fierce, as it should be. So why is it OK to embrace bigotry against Catholics?

Teaching the truth

The church teaches the truth about the human person, revealed by God through the Scriptures, Tradition and natural law, not because we hate or exclude anyone, but because we love everyone and want them to encounter the fullness of life, love and grace which the Lord offers us through a life of faith and discipleship.

The church is not willing to propose mere self-contentment as happiness, which is both isolating and divisive, but rather true happiness and joy, which in this life is an arduous but worthy good that unifies us in charity and truth.

Every NO the church utters against some practice or attitude in our society is only to proclaim an even greater YES to the truths and values, which bring joy and peace to the human heart.

In that vein, the church says YES to human life and dignity, justice, religious liberty, compassion, forgiveness, solidarity with the poor, beauty, love, the gift of sexuality, marriage, family, friendship, the arts and literature, the value of work, the flourishing of the common good, the importance of political leadership and participation, sports, science, the natural world, joy, peace and every other activity, value, institution and experience which makes us authentically human and holy.

There is nothing true, good or beautiful, which does not find resonance and support in the heart of the church.

Instead of viewing the church as the enemy of cultural progress, I pray that all people will come to realize that it is actually the greatest guarantor of human dignity and flourishing.

Originally published in the Catholic Herald of the Diocese of Madison.

By Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Scriptures tell of God’s people suffering persecution and exile — things the Chin community of St. Patrick Parish here know well.

And they also tell of the triumph of faith — the current experience of the Chin here.

On June 18, members of the Chin community celebrated the 10th anniversary of its establishment at St. Patrick Parish.

The anniversary Mass was held in the St. Patrick Parish center, and afterward there was a Burmese dinner in the St. Patrick School cafeteria.

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann was the main celebrant and homilist.

Myanmar clergy concelebrating were Bishop Lucius Hre Kung, Diocese of Hakha in Myanmar (Burma); St. Patrick Chin Community minister Father Michael Van Lian; Father Thawng Cem “Eustace” Thang, Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Indiana; Father Pius Chung, Diocese of Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Fathers Theodore Khin and Theodore Chrysostom Ahmaung, both of the Diocese of Wichita.

Also concelebrating from the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas were St. Patrick associate pastor Father William Dun-Dery, retired St. Patrick pastor Msgr. Michael Mullen and Father Joseph Arsenault, SSA.

Assisting were seminarian Paul Thuantho, Diocese of Kalamazoo, and Deacon Philip Nguyen, Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

It was a bilingual Mass. The music and people’s responses were in the Chin dialect, while the celebrants and concelebrants spoke English. Archbishop Naumann gave his homily in English, followed by Father Lian’s translation in Chin.

“Ten years ago, the leaders of the Chin Catholic community approached (then-pastor) Msgr. Michael Mullen about the possibility of a Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s,” said Archbishop Naumann. “Monsignor was impressed by the desire of the leaders of the Chin community to preserve their Catholic faith. And under Msgr. Mullen’s leadership, St. Patrick Parish eagerly welcomed the

Chin community.

“I’m also very grateful to Bishop Lucius from the Diocese of Hakha for sending an outstanding priest, Father Michael Lian, to provide pastoral care for the Chin community, as well as the Karenni community in our archdiocese. . . . Under Father Lian’s leadership, the Chin Catholic community has flourished at St. Patrick’s.”

After the Mass, four Myanmar religious Sisters — one from California, three from Florida — led a Chin children’s choir. Each non-Chin cleric, including St. Patrick pastor Father Mark Mertes, were presented gifts of colorful Chin jackets. A certificate of appreciation was given to Robert Sibia, one of the Chin community’s early leaders.

The Catholic Chin, a minority of a minority from western Myanmar, were among the tens of thousands of Chin who fled their homeland because of mistreatment by their neighbors and the government.

When they arrived here in 2011, the Catholic Chin began associating with Baptist Chin, a larger and more established group, said Simon Padue, current St. Patrick Chin community chairman.

This was not a good arrangement, however. The Chin wanted to practice their Catholic faith as well as pass it on to their children.

Sibia, one of the early leaders, moved to Kansas City, Kansas, from Massachusetts to help advance that cause. And Masses were occasionally celebrated for the Chin by visiting priests like Father Theodore Chrysostom Ahmaung from Wichita and Father John Mang Peng, a missionary to Cambodia who visited various Catholic Myanmar communities in the United States.

But all of these were temporary fixes. The Chin wanted a permanent home.

Finally, they held a series of meetings to find a parish home starting in April 2013.

“On that night during the meeting at my apartment, we (all 16 attendees) agreed to form a community and started looking for the parish near our area,” said Sibia. “We found St. Patrick Parish. It was convenient and not far from the area we were living. The appointment was made and 11 of us went to . . . meet [Msgr. Michael Mullen]. . . . We started having Sunday prayers at the school lunchroom.”

The group of 11 Chin men had their first meeting, which was arranged by Padue and his wife Helena, with Msgr. Mullen on April 13, 2013. And Msgr. Mullen celebrated his first Mass for the Chin on Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2013.

The Chin community at St. Patrick Parish began with 60 members and now has 200.

“The situation now is, I can say, is that I am here for them,” said Father Lian, who arrived at the parish in November 2015. “Every Sunday, they have the Mass