Catholic Response to Conspiracy Theories

Something I heard years ago comes to mind, 'Anti-Catholicism is the last ''respectable'' prejudice.'

From Catholic Stand


By Abigail C. R. Gripshover

If Catholic Stand included subtitles, this post’s would be “Why Catholics Need to Know Their Faith and History.”  In the past few weeks, I have seen Catholicism dragged through the mud with governmental figures and Hollywood celebrities by conspiracy theorists.  I have seen recent popes accused of being in league with Satanism and pedophilia, saints accused of the same, and Mary portrayed as the modern perpetuation of a pagan goddess.

To the informed Catholic, this is ridiculous.  But to a Catholic who is less informed, or to those outside the Church entirely, these claims can appear true.  In order to keep ourselves firm in the faith but also to help others see our side, we have to know what proof to present to let the truth have a fighting chance.  We can do this by knowing the history of our faith.

Balancing Emotion with Conspiracy

When I see these things, my emotional reaction is anger, sorrow, and impatience.  I want to type harsh things in comment sections and make aggressive posts of my own.  But I have also experienced a dash of uncertainty.  Some of these accounts have shared well-researched facts and interesting perspectives.  When the anti-Catholic posts come up, it is by surprise.  I am open-minded to the author’s perspectives and wonder what he could have read that made him include a saint in his exposure of such grievous sinners.

However, emotional reactions typed in online corners have never won souls or changed minds.  Conspiracy theories are attractive to people searching for the truth.  Some do so out of fear, some out of skepticism, and some do so out of intellectual curiosity.  If we respond with emotion, at worst they will just scroll past and at best they will assume they must have struck a chord with us and found a fault we wanted to hide.  We have to respond with rational truth.

Combating Conspiracy with Truth

In order to respond to these claims with truth, we have to know enough about our faith and its enemies to do so.  For example, knowing the Church’s process for declaring a saint will help you know that certain accusations against Pope John Paul II must be false.  By explaining this and offering examples from his life, you can help others see him in a more honest way.

Similar accusations made against Pope Benedict XVI can be answered with either fact about how much his writing has positively impacted the lives of the faithful, but can also be answered with explanations of the Pope’s role in the Church.  By explaining that Popes lead but do not change anything within the Church without an extensive process involving much prayer and many others, nothing claimed against a Pope can be a substantial claim against the Church as a whole.

Lies about Mary can be answered in the same way: by explaining what the Church actually teaches and including examples from her life or apparitions.  It would be hard for those claiming Mary is a pagan entity to explain away Our Lady of Lourdes and the miracles that occur at the apparition spot, for instance.

Truth Will Set Us Free

By responding with truth rather than emotion to the claims of conspiracy theories, we not only reaffirm the truth of the Church within our hearts, but we reaffirm it for other faithful who may feel confused and hurt by the false claims presented.  We help our fellow Catholics feel justified in their beliefs and more likely to stick to them, knowing they are not alone.  We also publicly take a stand on God’s side, a boost to our own personal faith journey.

By sharing the truth with patience and love, we also offer another perspective to those who are wavering or outside the Church.  If they see your comment, they may go looking into the truths of your claims too, and be surprised by what they find.  As the Catechism states:

Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself nor can truth ever contradict truth (CCC 159).

In other words, God created everything.  He gave humans the power of reason and intellect.  Everything we know, we know because He enables us to see and comprehend.  Nothing we can read or find will ever contradict God, because we would not know anything if He did not will it!  Some things may be confusing at first, but there is always an answer within the Catholic Church, the bride of Christ.

Catholics Must Be as Connected as Conspiracy Theorists

Catholics will always be persecuted and alone.  We do not have a side that will stand with us, because we were called to be different from the beginning.  God’s love is radical.  His Church demands that you change yourself and live for something else.  People do not want to hear that, so they will always attack.  Politically, the left stands for ideals that Catholics cannot support.  However, the right can also support things that Catholics cannot promote.  Conspiracy theorists want to drag down our recent popes and call the Church’s symbolism occult.  It’s nothing new.

If those against us can unite in their efforts to hurt the Church, we must unite in our efforts to defend her.  Be the first to point out her heroes rather than her villains.  If there is something you do not know enough about to defend, take time to learn, and educate yourself.  The Catechism is always a good place to start.  This article by fellow Catholic Stand columnist Scott Davis makes excellent points about our role in responding to current events as well.

The mistakes of past Catholics are not the Church’s mistakes.  The Church is the one, true Church.  Her leaders can be flawed without tainting her validity.  Do not allow conspiracy theorists to convince you otherwise.  Scott Davis’s rule of thumb included in his article mentioned above is: “not to subscribe to the teachings of any group in its entirety outside the body of the Church, but instead to examine all issues on their merits.”  If you choose to respond, do so in charity and with the truth.  Then let God do the rest.