Consumed with the Immediate and Rejecting the Past

“A historical myth is a widely held interpretation of historical events that is believed, not for its veracity, but because it explains the past in a way that somehow satisfies the worldview of those who believe it. Myth is not simply the result of ignorance or misunderstanding; it is believed because people wish, in spite of all countervailing evidence, to believe it.” - Thomas S. Freeman and Susan Doran

It is not shocking that Catholics have been vilified and scapegoated throughout history. 

Catholics are called to imitate Christ and should expect the same treatment as their Lord, who said, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you” (John 15:20). 

In ancient Israel, the Jewish people, in accordance with the dictates of Leviticus, annually chose a goat, which was burdened symbolically with the sins of the people and released into the wilderness. This scapegoat was an innocent beast that united the community through its sacrifice.

Whereas the Jewish practice was rooted in religious tradition and involved the concepts of sin and redemption, the human form of scapegoating consists of an innocent victim, shunned or besmirched by a group in a desire to rid the community of a perceived evil or to deflect blame. 

In modernity, the tactic of “canceling” has become the weapon of choice (along with scapegoating) to disparage, dismiss, or ruin the reputation of an individual or group. Modern-day critics embrace a posture of superiority and judge the actions of persons in the past without understanding or acknowledging the historical context in which they lived. Modern society is consumed with the immediate and rejects the past by either ignoring it, at best, or crafting a new narrative that undermines the actions and memory of previously important historical actors. 

The rejection of historical memory produces a lack of historical context, which culminates in a lack of perspective of human events. Therefore, modern man is unable to properly comprehend contemporary happenings with a frame of historical reference and is enslaved in the tyranny of the present. 

The loss of the historical past results in the vices of quick judgments, false attribution of motives, and a general hermeneutic of suspicion. These attributes contribute to a negative discourse in modern society, in which every word or action is interpreted in the most extreme manner, producing shrill, sensational commentary that seeks to compel attention (i.e. “click-bait”). 

Cancelation, scapegoating, and persecution constitute core themes in the 2,000-year history of the Church. The honor, reputation, and memory of individual Catholics have been attacked by enemies of the Faith seeking to discredit the actions of the Church. Indeed, the Church was less than a century old when the first instance of Catholic scapegoating occurred. 
    
On the night of July 18, A.D. 64, a great fire erupted in an area of the city of Rome. Ultimately, several districts of the city were devastated, with major damage and loss of life. The fire raged for several days. Once it had abated, the populace was angry and demanded answers about its origin. Rumors surfaced that the emperor was to blame for the fire. In an effort to repel criticism, the emperor invented a scapegoat: he blamed the fire on a small group in the city that refused to honor the pagan gods, the Christians. 

This is how the infamous Nero (r. A.D. 54-68) tried to cancel Catholics and initiated the first of many persecutions against the Church. He outlawed the Faith and ordered the arrest and imprisonment of the faithful in Rome. Catholics were horribly tortured and killed under Nero to deflect Roman anger against the emperor.

But the emperor’s actions backfired. Tacitus, a Roman senator and historian, recorded that Nero’s punishments, instead, engendered “a sentiment of pity [among the Roman people], due to the impression that they [Christians] were being sacrificed not for the welfare of the state but to the ferocity of a single man.”  
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