Honestly, I agree, but this persecution has hit the catholic church for many years, even in the beginning of this country. It has continued on. It's getting "worse" in different ways. Persecution is sometimes in the form of outside meddling and hatred against it from non-catholics. Laws are passed to force you to leave your religious practice (paying for birth control). The only catholic president we have ever had was JFK...a total miracle. We are feared right and left but many others don't recognize it for what it is.
Some of our suffering has come at the hands of fellow catholics (priest and bishop's ignoring child sexual abuse, heresies in some organizations within as in nuns for the priesthood and the list goes on to include beyond divorce, abortion, violence, substance abuse etc.). There is prejudice from other christians who don't take time to learn the Church and understand her. There is prejudice given back, further hurting the body of Christ. The church - all churches of Jesus - have been persecuted for 2 millennia. We have been born right into the midst of this American one...this modern one...and we fear the coming physical death.
Yet, death was encroaching all along. It has already taken the lives of fellow believers the world over in many wars and sufferings...and poverty. We have been asleep in our cushioned pews and are now afraid of losing our materialistic lives. Jesus has got to be above and beyond all that and we will enter the worst of the persecutions either with Him or run from Him. It's been here and the worst of it is not our physical deaths, it is the spiritual death of many outside and inside it. We have been blinded all along.
Yep... drink my coffee and chill as I read and learn. 
