“I am Catholic”

I was contemplating the use of the words “ I am Catholic” and wondering when and why it became necessary to say that.
A rant:
Today, unfortunately it’s not enough to say I am a Christian as that doesn’t describe your faith and your belief system.
Christianity has in many cases been hijacked by the very opposite of what it means to be Christian
You have some “Christians” that believe a third temple needs to be built so that a red cow can be sacrificed before Jesus returns. These “Christians” believe that killing the enemy of this plan is Gods will. How does anyone who read the bible with the key to understanding it being Jesus in the NT reconcile with this?
When people try to justify violence or the destruction of “enemies,” the New Testament leaves no room for it. Jesus consistently confronts the human impulse to harm, dominate, or destroy those we fear or dislike.
His words cut directly against injustice and the taking of life.
1. Jesus commands love, not violence, toward enemies.
He says plainly: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5).
This is not sentimental. It is a direct prohibition against treating enemies as disposable or less human.
2. Jesus rejects retaliation and cycles of harm.
When Peter tried to defend Him with a sword, Jesus stopped him: “Put your sword back… for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
He refuses to let violence, even “justified” violence, define His movement.
3. Jesus exposes the injustice of harming others in God’s name.
In Luke 9, when the disciples wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan village, Jesus rebuked them.
He shuts down the idea that God endorses destroying people who oppose or offend us.
4. Jesus identifies mercy, not vengeance, as the mark of God’s people.
He teaches: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
Mercy is not weakness.
It is the refusal to participate in injustice, cruelty, or dehumanization.
5. Jesus reveals God’s heart for every person, even those labeled “enemy.”
On the cross, facing state violence and mob hatred, He says: “Father, forgive them.”
He refuses to mirror the injustice done to Him. He breaks the cycle instead of continuing it.
I also find We are losing something deeply human
Our sense of dignity, restraint, and the Christian values we claim to hold.
There is a righteous anger many feel at the suffering and injustice in the world. But alongside it, I’ve noticed something darker taking root in me: a steady anger that doesn’t leave, and a growing struggle with hatred in my heart.
As a Catholic, I’m called to love my enemy and pray for those who do wrong. I’m trying to live that out, but I find it difficult when I witness suffering and the seeming celebration of destruction.
I feel guilt over the anger I carry. I go to confession with it, I pray with it, and still it remains.
I don’t know how we are meant to reconcile loving our enemies with the reality of evil and the harm it causes. I can understand praying for transformation—for peace, for repentance, for light—but forgiveness feels far away right now.
What I do know is that I don’t want this anger to harden my heart.
I pray for healing, for peace I don’t feel yet, and for the grace to hate evil without becoming consumed by it.
For the world. For everyone. Everywhere.
We need help beyond ourselves.
Wake up and stop following those who say Jesus is anything but peace, love and mercy.
My sincere wish to get to a state where I feel no more hate but a strong burning desire to pray for those that I am criticizing and those that are gleefully engaged in war and endless killing.