Msgr. Charles Pope over at his blog shared with us Some thoughts on the five stages of religious persecution. I will refer you to his blog post for this thoughts, but I want to share with you those "five stages" for a reflection of our own.
1. Stereotyping the targeted group - To stereotype means to repeat without variation, to take a quality or observation of a limited number, and generalize it of the whole group. It involves a simplified and standardized conception or view of a group based on observation of a limited sample.One way or the other we have seen the first four stages in action in our times. How much longer before we see the fifth stage take place? Never in America? I don't think so. I think we can see persecution here. Let's hope for the best!
2. Vilifying the targeted Group for alleged crimes or misconduct, - As the stereotyping grows in intensity, Catholics and Christians, who did not toe the line in the cultural revolution were described as, close-minded, harmful to human dignity and freedom, intolerant, hateful, bigoted, unfair, homophobic, reactionary and just plain mean and basically bad people.
3. Marginalizing the targeted group’s role in society - Having established the (untrue) premise that the Church and the faith is very bad, and even harmful to human dignity and freedom, the next stage seeks to relegate the role of the Church to the margins.
4. Criminalizing the targeted group or its works.– Can someone say HHS mandate?
5. Persecuting the targeted group outright - If current trends continue, Christians, especially religious leaders, may not be far from enduring heavy fines and jail.
What do you think?