Oppressed
It is not something that is so common
now, but I am old enough to remember when Catholics faced prejudice.
Yes, seemingly ordinary ‘white Christians,’ the sort of folks who
would be seen as part of the ‘establishment’ these days, had
their problems in an earlier America.
By the time I was growing up, that had
faded somewhat but I still came up against it as a kid — mostly
young people parroting stuff their parents might have said at home.
But it was far worse in earlier generations. In part, that was a
matter of many immigrants, Irish, Italians, being Catholic, but it
also goes to traditional Northern European hostility to the Church.
Especially strong in England, of course, caught between their old
enemy, Catholic France, and those unruly Irishmen.
I can’t claim to be an oppressed
minority these days — well, not as a Catholic anyway. Maybe my
grandparents could or maybe I would need to go a generation or two
further back (before that, the Catholics in my family tree would have
been in Europe*). But prejudice does still exist, particularly
against those who truly practice their faith. We should remember that
Catholics were among those specifically targeted by the Ku Klux Klan.
Those who truly practice their faith, I
say; most modern-day Catholics are pretty much indistinguishable from
the secular/Protestant mainstream around them. They have the same
values, for better or worse. Despite not being a practicing Catholic
anymore (nor for a very long time), I may well think and act more
Catholic than most of those who are. It is ingrained in me, part of
my identity, and always will be.
And I am, despite myself, a ‘Catholic
author.’ It is there in the novels,** if one looks for it. It is
there in the poems. So be it.
Oppressed minorities — can I claim
kinship, despite my own straight*** white male status? Every person
who has been bullied or mistreated knows something of oppression and
persecution. That would be most of us, wouldn’t it? But not all
make the leap to empathy; some turn to fear and hatred.
I suppose that is inevitable, humans
being human. Most of us have the ability to overcome the evil within
us (and I do believe in evil). But we are also easily led astray,
twisted to wrong purposes. Few truly look into themselves and
recognize their mistakes. Now there is an argument for the Catholic
confessional! Or at least for the sort of self-examination that is
part of that heritage.
If anything, I probably take too broad
a view. I know all things pass, that cultures are constantly in flux.
Today’s prejudices might seem ridiculous in a generation or two,
just as those against Catholics mostly do now. And perhaps there will
be new prejudices to replace them. We can only attempt to do what is
right, as always, and know we shall sometimes fall short.
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*They were German Catholics, who came
to this country from Switzerland. Whether that was their origin or
they passed through on their way here, I do not know nor particularly
care.
**Especially the Cully Beach novels,
where I made my protagonist a semi-practicing Catholic.
*** Reasonably so
