Saint Paul warned us about this. He wrote that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against powers and rulers of darkness. He was writing about Rome. He may as well have been writing about Washington.
What we call the Deep State, the early Christians would have recognised immediately. A class of unelected officials who answer to no one, serve no one, and believe in nothing beyond keeping their own power. They do not worship the God of Abraham. They worship the institution. They worship themselves.
The persecution of Donald Trump was not simply political. It was spiritual. A system that put a former president on trial four times, while funding the killing of the unborn and pushing gender confusion into the classrooms of six year olds, has shown us its true religion. It is not ours.
I have watched bishops issue careful statements full of words that say everything and commit to nothing. I understand the temptation. The institution must be protected. But the Church was not built on careful statements. It was built on men who stood in front of kings and told the truth anyway.
The Bible calls them powers of darkness for a reason. These are not simply bad policies or corrupt men. This is a system. It is organised. It is patient. It is designed to outlast the people who fight it. And it can only be defeated by people who understand what they are actually up against.
The Church must name this for what it is. Not a political disagreement. Not a difference of opinion between reasonable people. A spiritual battle. And we must fight it the way Scripture tells us to. With truth. With prayer. With the full armour of God.
The darkness does not fear your politics. It fears your faith.
— Father Thomas