Have we had darker days?

[JackVk]

Okay, there’s no question that the Church is under siege in this day and age. I could go on all day about abortion, pornography, gay marriage, blasphemy, the media, etc. But has the Church ever been in a worse spot at some point in history?

 

[Edwin78]

Okay, there’s no question that the Church is under siege in this day and age. I could go on all day about abortion, pornography, gay marriage, blasphemy, the media, etc. But has the Church ever been in a worse spot at some point in history?

At least we are not yet being hunted down and being thrown to the lions…yet

 

[Adonia]

Okay, there’s no question that the Church is under siege in this day and age. I could go on all day about abortion, pornography, gay marriage, blasphemy, the media, etc. But has the Church ever been in a worse spot at some point in history?

It’s all part of the plan. Just sit tight and hang on, the promise of Heaven still sounds good to me!

 

[Apollos]

Okay, there’s no question that the Church is under siege in this day and age. I could go on all day about abortion, pornography, gay marriage, blasphemy, the media, etc. But has the Church ever been in a worse spot at some point in history?

Yes. Corruption of the clergy during the time of St Peter Damian, and the Western Schism; also the Arian period.

Oh, and this won’t be the last. The worst is yet to come.

I have this theory. God permits enough cr*p to allow the h8trz to discredit us, in every generation.

 

[delilah35]

There is “good” and “bad” in every religion and in every race, culture, male and female. The world is filled with good and bad an sadly as it is, it’s in our Catholic Churches around the world, just know that those who are doing bad will be judged, just keep the faith God Bless Delilah

 

[callmeChris]

The Church has always been attacked, but I think it’s pretty fair to say that over the past 40 years the Church has dealt with major major problems, both from within and outside. But remember just keep the faith, and know that the ultimate victory will be with Christ and his holy Church. There are many saints who wish to live in these dark times, for they knew the challenge it was to their Faith, and they knew the value of living in these times for the redemption of souls for all Heaven.

 

[SunnaB16]

We know who the Pope is, unlike those poor beggars in the 15th Century and other times. And we`re not saddled with Alexander VI.

Thanks to the corruption and decadence of Western society, the enemy is pretty well defined: we`re not boxing shadows anymore. Individual enemies of the Church like R Dawkins are making.it even easier to find our targets.

The Church is at Her best when persecuted, and we as individuals, as well as collectively, can show “The World” what were made of by defending Her. Its a great time in history to be a Catholic! We can be knights in shining armour, defending the Bride. All we need is a bit of courage: that shouldnt be too hard, seeing were already assured about Who wins.

Add to all of that the relatively recently defined dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption…we`ve got it made!

To survive the past 2,000 stormy years, the Church MUST have been Divinely instituted!
The Barque of Peter has done a lot of tacking, but it`s still on course.

 

[puzzleannie]

Okay, there’s no question that the Church is under siege in this day and age. I could go on all day about abortion, pornography, gay marriage, blasphemy, the media, etc. But has the Church ever been in a worse spot at some point in history?

yes of course, often
the persecutions of the early Church, followed by the heresies especially the Arian crisis, when at one point the majority of bishops and Christians were Arians.
the Rise of Islam probably the most lasting damage to the Church in Muslim dominated areas, and a foment of religious war from the crusades to the border wars in Spain, Hungary and other points of contact which shaped history so much and still does to this day.

the wars of religion that punctuated European history in the middle ages were often based in combatting heresy that had political ramifications, from the Albingensians right through the Reformation which was as much political as religious. A Norwegian priest just spoke on Journey Home this week about his surprise to learn from studying his own country’s history that Lutheranism was forced on his Catholic country by a foreign Danish king. Not to mention the persecution and suffering of missionaries throughout the world. The Church is facing real persecution today in pagan and Moslem countries, and anywhere the she stands up for the poor and marginalized.

I do share OP’s concern that the cultural war is at least as threatening as the overt physical attacks on Christians the Church because it is an attack on souls.

 

[kenofken]

I would suggest that the Christians of old were made of far stouter stuff than today’s lot, and would have some choice words for all the folks who cry “persecution” anytime their sensibilities are offended by something in popular culture. For all the hubub, I’m not seeing mass martyrdom. What is happening is that the Church is losing its status as an absolute shadow government which had gotten used to a privileged place in society for 15 centuries or so. Now it has to jostle about in the marketplace of ideas with the rest of us (which was sort of the whole point of the democracy experiment). They still get their way in or above proportion to their numbers most of the time. To the extent the Church’s stock has sunk in the public’s eyes, virtuall all of that damage has been self-inflicted. That trend will rapidly accelerate until and unless lay Catholics demand accountability of their leaders rather than circling the wagons to protect them against supposed “persecution.”

 

[tomarin]

Okay, there’s no question that the Church is under siege in this day and age. I could go on all day about abortion, pornography, gay marriage, blasphemy, the media, etc. But has the Church ever been in a worse spot at some point in history?

I’d say that many periods, including but not limited to the Great Schism, the Crusades, and the Spanish Civil War, were worse times for the Church. Also the 1970’s with all those felt banners.