Growing up, we often uttered retorts such as “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” when disagreeing with a feisty classmate. But with maturity came the realization that some folks are simply hell-bent on detestations.

Such is the case with the National Catholic Reporter. One of the paper’s chief distorters recently sent a verbal assault toward one of the most incredibly solid catholic bishops we have ever known. His name is Bishop Joseph Strickland; his diocese is Tyler, Texas; and his crime is teaching and preaching truth.

NCR is upset with Bishop Strickland for supporting the homilies of priests like Fr. James Altman, who delivered a 10-minute message on the reasons why Catholics cannot, in good conscience, vote Democrat in the coming election. Of course, Altman is not alone, but that does not stop NCR from its laser focus of nastiness on the bishop and this particular priest.

To be clear, many ordained men have made strong statements leading up to the coming elections. They have done so with good cause. You can read the words of Bishop Richard Stika, who is using Twitter to teach. You can read about Bishop Thomas Tobin’s comments regarding Joe Biden’s support for abortion. These comments caused the Boston Globe to report: “Not all Catholic clergy agree with Tobin. Jesuit priest James Martin, editor at large of America magazine, tweeted: ‘Mr. Biden is a baptized Catholic. Thus, he is a Catholic.’”

Of course Martin, who is the darling of the rebellious Catholic media and the secular press, is known to propagate heretical ideas, including his hope that one day the Catholic Church will, in her teachings, allow same-sex marriage!

Perhaps this is why NCR favors Martin’s opinion, as erroneous as it is. Not all the promoters of false teaching are in the secular media, after all, but I digress.

Fr. Michael Orsi said that wayward Catholic groups usually claim to promote social justice but forget that, “unless a person has the right to life, all else is meaningless.” This is something rebellious Catholics seem to forget.

Another remarkable priest is Fr. Jonathan Meyer of Indiana who inspires his flock with the genuine Catholic truth. And frankly there are countless other priests we cannot list here, yet each is a blessing to souls searching for the light of Christ. These are priests who help their flock understand the basis of Catholic teaching and how to apply it to daily life.

They are feeding their flock with moral teaching, not partisan gobbledygook.

So when the NCR describes Bishop Strickland as a “partisan” member of the hierarchy who promotes “fringe or extremist clerics,” including Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, we take heart and celebrate those who put Christ and truth ahead of public popularity and applause.

As Christ taught His disciples in Luke 6: 22-23: “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.”

The NCR spews animosity for a reason. We all know what that is, and we thank God for the grace to stay out of the muck and the mire.