Not long ago I wrote about the importance of religious freedom and the danger of government overreach into sacred spaces like the Catholic confessional. But threats to the Catholic faith are not just legal. They are violent. And they are growing.
Just yesterday, as I write this, a shooter opened fire during Mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, killing two children and injuring 17 more. In Nigeria, more than 7,000 Christians, many of them Catholic, have been killed in 2025 alone. In July 2025, militants stormed a Catholic church in Komanda, Congo, and murdered more than 40 people during a night vigil.
In August 2023, churches were torched in Pakistan after false accusations against a Christian man. In 2022, the Nicaraguan government arrested Bishop Rolando Álvarez and shut down Catholic churches. In early 2023, mobs attacked priests and churches across India while authorities stood by. Since 2018, more than 1,000 Catholic churches in France have been vandalized or desecrated.
This is not random. It is a pattern that crosses borders and cultures. So why is Catholicism so often the target? Jesus told us, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18), and “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). And as Saint Paul writes, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).
Evil does not waste its time on what is already broken. It strikes what is good. To my Protestant brothers and sisters, we may worship differently, but we follow the same Gospel. If evil continues to attack Catholic people, teachings and spaces, maybe it is because something holy is there.
We are not called to fear or bitterness. We are called to unity and truth. I hope we can speak up, not just for our rights, but for those who are suffering in silence.
Daniel William Echtle
Toledo
