Can You Be Holy and Disliked by Church Authorities?

Brief Overview

• Holiness means becoming closer to God through living virtue, prayer, and following Christ’s teachings, and this path is open to all people regardless of how others view you.
• Church authorities are human beings with their own limitations, personal views, and sometimes misunderstandings, so disagreement with them does not mean you are not living a holy life.
• History shows many saints who faced opposition from church leaders during their lifetimes, yet the Church later recognized their sanctity and virtue.
• The core measure of holiness comes from God’s judgment of your heart, intentions, and actions, not from the approval or disapproval of any person in authority.
• Disagreement with church authorities can happen for various reasons including misunderstandings, different approaches to faith, or even cases where authorities made mistakes.
• Living a holy life sometimes requires standing firm in your conscience while remaining respectful, obedient where possible, and trusting in God’s ultimate plan for your life.

What Does Holiness Actually Mean?

Holiness in the Catholic tradition means becoming more like Christ through the work of God’s grace in your life. You grow in holiness by developing virtue, spending time in prayer, receiving the sacraments, and trying to serve God and others with sincere intentions. Holiness is not perfection, because even the greatest saints struggled with human weakness and made mistakes. The Church teaches that all people are called to holiness, not just priests, monks, or nuns, so you can be holy whether you work in an office, care for children, or do any other honest work. Holiness involves responding to God’s call in your specific situation, whatever that may be. Your holiness grows through small daily choices to do what is right, to forgive others, to be patient, and to love both God and your neighbor. The goal of holiness is not to win approval from people but to align your will with God’s will. Saint Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that God wants you to be holy, which means avoiding sin and growing in virtue. Holiness includes both what you do outwardly and the condition of your heart inwardly. The Church recognizes that holiness is deeply personal and that God judges each person according to their own circumstances and the knowledge they have available to them.

Church Authorities Are Human and Fallible

Popes, bishops, priests, and other church leaders are human beings who carry out important responsibilities in the Church, but they are not free from the limits that all humans share. These leaders can make mistakes in judgment, can be influenced by their own cultural views, or can misunderstand situations they encounter. The Bible itself shows examples of Peter, the first pope, making errors that needed correction, and Paul directly confronted Peter over a matter of principle in Galatians 2. The Church teaches that the Holy Spirit guides the Church in matters of faith and morals at the highest levels, but this protection does not mean that every decision made by church officials is correct or wise. Bishops and priests have significant authority to lead their parishes and dioceses, yet they operate within human limitations and can disagree with each other on how best to serve the faithful. When church authorities disagree with someone, they may be wrong, they may be right, or the situation may be complex enough that reasonable people could hold different views. Being disliked by church authorities does not therefore mean you are not holy, just as being liked by them does not guarantee you are holy. Your relationship with God and your sincere efforts to live according to your conscience and the Church’s teachings on faith and morals are what matter most for your spiritual life. Many good people throughout history have experienced disapproval from church leaders for various reasons, and many of these people are now recognized as saints.

Saints Who Faced Opposition from Church Leaders

The lives of saints show us that opposition from church authorities does not prevent a person from being holy. Saint Joan of Arc was a young peasant girl who heard voices she believed were from God and Saint Michael, leading her to help the French military fight the English during the Hundred Years’ War. She was captured and tried by church authorities who condemned her as a heretic, and she was executed by being burned at the stake in 1431. However, the Church later reviewed her case, found that the original trial was unfair and based on faulty reasoning, and declared her innocent of the charges against her; she is now a saint. Saint Therese of Lisieux faced misunderstandings from some church leaders about her spiritual way during her life, particularly regarding her simple approach to holiness. Her superiors sometimes questioned her methods and her ability to lead others spiritually, yet after her death, the Church recognized her as a doctor of the Church because her teachings on the spiritual life are so valuable and true. Saint Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus and faced suspicion from some church authorities who did not fully understand his vision, yet he persisted in building a religious community that has served the Church for nearly five hundred years. Saint Catherine of Siena had a reputation as a mystic and spiritual teacher, and while some church leaders respected her deeply, others viewed her with suspicion because she was a woman claiming to receive divine messages. The Church later recognized her as a saint and even declared her a doctor of the Church, showing that her spiritual gifts and holiness were real even when some officials doubted her. These examples show that being disliked or even condemned by church authorities in your own time does not mean you lack holiness; truth often becomes clear only after time passes and more information becomes available.

God’s Judgment Versus Human Judgment

God judges the human heart in a way that no person on earth can truly do, because God sees into the depths of your intentions, your struggles, and your sincere efforts to follow him. When you stand before God in the end, your holiness will be measured not by what any bishop or priest thought of you, but by whether you truly tried to love God and your neighbor, whether you repented of your sins, and whether you allowed God’s grace to work in your life. The Catechism teaches that God judges each person according to what they knew and their capacity to choose freely, taking into account circumstances that may have limited their knowledge or their freedom to act. Your conscience is important in this process; you have a responsibility to form your conscience correctly through prayer, study of the Church’s teachings, and seeking wise counsel, but ultimately you must follow your properly formed conscience even if it disagrees with what someone in authority tells you to do. This does not mean you should ignore church authorities or treat their guidance as worthless, because the Church has legitimate authority and wisdom to offer. Rather, it means that in situations where authority figures are wrong or where you have genuine reasons to believe they are mistaken, your obligation is to God first. The Church recognizes that there can be cases where a person is bound by conscience to respectfully refuse to obey an unjust command, though such situations are rare and serious. God looks at your heart and knows whether you are acting with genuine faith, good intentions, and sincere desire to serve him. People’s judgments of you, whether positive or negative, are limited by what they can see on the outside and what they choose to understand. Your holiness grows through your relationship with God, your efforts to avoid sin and grow in virtue, and your willingness to serve others with love; none of these things depend on the approval of church authorities.

When Disagreement with Authority Is Not Sinful

You can disagree with church authorities on many matters without sinning and without harming your path to holiness, because there are different levels of Church teaching and authority. On matters of faith and morals that have been clearly defined by the Church, all Catholics are bound to assent with their mind and will, and deliberate rejection of such teaching is sinful. However, on many other matters such as strategies for running parishes, approaches to evangelism, discipline of particular individuals, policies about finances, or interpretations of Church documents that are not officially settled, Catholics can hold different views. Saint Paul taught in Romans 14 that Christians should not judge one another on matters that are not settled, and that each person should be fully convinced in their own mind; this principle has always applied in the Church. Many situations in parish and diocesan life involve matters of prudence, or wise judgment about how best to accomplish good goals in specific circumstances. Two people can both be devoted to the Church and genuinely trying to serve it well while disagreeing about whether a particular strategy is wise or effective. If you believe a church authority is making a poor decision, you may have a right and even a responsibility to express your concerns respectfully, especially if you have expertise or information relevant to the matter. Speaking the truth with love, even when it might be unpopular, can be part of your holiness rather than a contradiction to it. You do not abandon the virtue of obedience by raising concerns or offering a different perspective; obedience is not blind acceptance but rather cooperation with legitimate authority in a spirit of trust and service to the good of the community. Your holiness is strengthened when you act with integrity, honesty, and courage to do what is right while still respecting the legitimate role of church authorities.

Obedience, Conscience, and Standing Firm

The Catholic tradition teaches that obedience to legitimate authority is a virtue and part of living a good life, but obedience is not absolute and does not override conscience or moral truth. When a church authority commands you to do something that you sincerely believe is sinful or seriously wrong, you have a responsibility before God not to obey that command. The Catechism states that conscience is the inner voice through which God makes known to you his call to do what is good and to avoid what is evil. You must form your conscience carefully through prayer and study of Church teaching, but once properly formed, you must follow it even if doing so means refusing obedience to authority. There have been cases in Church history where religious figures stood against their superiors because they believed their superiors were wrong about important matters. These people were not sinful for refusing to obey; rather, they acted with courage and holiness by standing firm in what they believed was true and right. At the same time, you should be humble enough to consider the possibility that you might be wrong and the authority figure might be right; this is why seeking wise counsel and listening to the reasons given by those in authority is important. If you believe you must refuse obedience to church authority, you should do so respectfully and make clear your reasons; you should not simply rebel or show disrespect. You can be disliked by church authorities for taking a stand on conscience and still be holy, because your holiness does not depend on their approval but on your faithfulness to God and your sincere efforts to do what is right. The relationship between obedience and conscience is not always easy to navigate, and it requires prayer, humility, wisdom, and courage.

Times When Disapproval May Reflect Real Problems

While it is true that church authorities can be wrong about a person, there are also times when disapproval from church authorities may indicate that something needs to change in how that person is living or acting. If multiple church leaders express concern about your behavior or beliefs, it would be wise to take this seriously and pray about whether they might be seeing something you are missing. Sometimes people convince themselves that they are being persecuted or misunderstood when in fact the church leaders are rightfully concerned about something genuinely problematic. It is part of maturity and holiness to be open to correction and to consider whether criticism might be valid even when it is difficult to hear. The Church teaches that we should be open to fraternal correction, which means that when others point out a fault or mistake, we should listen with humility rather than immediately defending ourselves. If your behavior is causing scandal, meaning that people are being led away from faith or from virtue because of your actions, then church authorities have a right and a responsibility to address this. If your teachings contradict what the Church has defined as doctrine, then church leaders should correct you; this is not persecution but rather proper pastoral care. If you are acting in ways that harm others or that violate Church law without good reason, then disapproval from church authorities may be appropriate and your task is to change, not to convince yourself that you are being unjustly treated. Being holy does not mean being above correction; rather, it includes the willingness to admit when you are wrong and to change your behavior accordingly. Saints often speak about how grateful they were for correction and criticism because these helped them grow closer to God and become more virtuous. The question then becomes whether you are willing to examine yourself honestly or whether you are simply defending yourself no matter what.

The Role of Personal Responsibility in Holiness

Your holiness is not something that church authorities can give to you or take away from you; it is something that you build through your own choices and through God’s grace working in your life. Church leaders can help guide you, offer sacraments, teach you the faith, and provide correction when needed, but ultimately the work of becoming holy is your own responsibility. You cannot blame church authorities for your sins or excuse yourself from following your conscience by saying that the leaders told you not to do something. At the same time, you cannot become holy through rebellion against legitimate authority or through constant conflict with the Church. Your personal responsibility includes forming your own conscience, praying regularly, studying the faith, seeking the sacraments, serving others, and working to develop virtue in your daily life. This responsibility means that you should not simply accept everything a church leader tells you without thinking, but also that you should not dismiss their guidance without serious consideration. You are responsible for your own spiritual growth and for making choices that draw you closer to God. If you are unhappy with your parish or diocese, you have some choices available to you; you can try to work for positive change, you can seek guidance from other spiritual advisors, or in some cases you can move to a different parish or diocese. But you cannot simply stop trying to live a holy life because you are frustrated with authority figures. Your holiness depends on what you do with the grace God offers you, not on the approval or disapproval of people in power. Taking responsibility for your own spiritual life means refusing to be passive about your faith and also refusing to use church leaders as an excuse for your own failures to grow spiritually.

Humility and Accepting Your Limited View

One important part of holiness is humility, which includes recognizing that you do not see the full picture of any situation. When you disagree with church authorities, it is possible that they have information or understanding that you lack. Church leaders may have access to more facts than you do, may have consulted with advisors who have expertise you do not have, or may be making decisions based on concerns that are not immediately obvious. This does not mean you should never question authority or express your views, but it does mean you should do so with recognition that your perspective may be limited. Humility also means being honest about your own potential biases; you might favor a certain position because it benefits you personally or because it aligns with your preferences, not because it is truly right. Saints are known for their humility, for their willingness to accept correction, and for their recognition that they do not have all the answers. Living with humility does not mean pretending you do not think or refusing to take stands on matters you believe are important. Rather, it means holding your views firmly while still remaining open to the possibility that you could be wrong. When you are in conflict with church authorities, humility calls you to listen carefully to what they say, to try to understand their reasons, and to consider whether they might be right. You can be both firmly convinced that you are right about something and humbly aware that you could be mistaken; these two attitudes are not contradictory. Humility also means accepting that even if you are right and they are wrong, the situation may take time to resolve, and your job is to act with integrity now rather than to prove yourself right in the end.

Prayer, Discernment, and Seeking Wisdom

When you face conflict with church authorities or are uncertain about how to act in a situation involving authority, prayer and discernment are essential tools. Taking your concerns to God in prayer helps you to calm your emotions, to gain perspective, and to open yourself to God’s wisdom. In prayer, you can ask God to help you see whether you are being stubborn or whether you are genuinely called to take a stand. You can also pray for the church leaders involved, asking God to guide them and to give you compassion for them even if you disagree with them. Discernment is the process of trying to understand what God is calling you to do in a particular situation. When discerning, you should consider not only what you want to do but also what wise spiritual advisors think, what the Church teaches, and what will likely lead to good outcomes. Seeking wisdom from others is important; this might mean talking with a spiritual director, a trusted priest, a wise older Catholic, or others who have experience and good judgment. These people can ask you questions that help you to examine your own motivations and to consider perspectives you may not have thought of on your own. Different advisors might give you different counsel, and you may need to weigh their views and decide what to do. Prayer also helps you to accept outcomes you cannot control; sometimes you will do everything you can to address a problem and nothing will change, and prayer helps you to trust in God’s providence even in difficult situations. The Catholic tradition has always valued both action and contemplation, both speaking truth and accepting silence when that is what circumstances require. Through prayer and discernment, you can find peace knowing that you are doing your best to follow God even in situations involving conflict with church authorities.

How to Express Disagreement Respectfully

If you believe you must express disagreement with church authorities, there are ways to do this that maintain respect and charity while still making your views known. Timing matters; if possible, avoid bringing up a disagreement when emotions are high or when you are angry. Speaking privately to the person involved is usually better than speaking about them to others, because it gives them a chance to explain or to listen without feeling publicly challenged. Your tone should reflect respect for the person’s position and authority even while you are disagreeing with them. Using words like “I see this differently because,” or “I have concerns about this because,” creates space for dialogue rather than confrontation. Listening is just as important as speaking; ask questions to understand why the person in authority made their decision or holds their view. You should clearly state your reasons for disagreeing, basing them on principle, facts, or Church teaching rather than on personal preference or emotion. Avoid attacking the character of the person in authority; focus instead on the issue at hand. You can acknowledge that the person may have good intentions or that you understand their perspective even while disagreeing with them. If you do not get the outcome you want, accepting the situation gracefully shows far more strength than continuing to argue or becoming bitter. Sometimes expressing disagreement respectfully means accepting that the authority figure will not change their mind and that you must decide whether you can live with their decision or whether you need to take other action. Living with ongoing disagreement without letting it turn into anger or bitterness is part of the maturity and holiness that the Church calls you to develop.

Saints Who Were Misunderstood in Their Time

Saint Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish priest and friar who worked to spread devotion to Mary through his writing and speaking. During World War II, he was arrested by the Nazis and imprisoned in Auschwitz, where he was killed for his faith. While he was not disliked by all church authorities, he faced some suspicion because of his unconventional methods and because of his strong anti-Nazi stance when some church leaders were more cautious. The Church recognized his holiness by canonizing him as a saint; his willingness to die for others, including offering his own life in place of another prisoner, demonstrated the depth of his holiness. Saint Francis of Assisi lived in a way that seemed strange to many people of his time, including some church leaders who did not immediately understand his vision of living in poverty and returning to a simpler way of following Christ. He founded a religious order that eventually became very important to the Church, and he is now recognized as one of the greatest saints in the Church’s history. Saint Thomas Aquinas was sometimes viewed with suspicion by church authorities during his life because his theological methods were new and seemed different from traditional approaches. Yet he is now recognized as one of the greatest theologians and doctors of the Church, and his writings shaped Catholic teaching for centuries. Saint Teresa of Avila reformed religious communities for women and advocated for changes in how women’s religious communities were organized and led. This sometimes put her in conflict with male church authorities who did not immediately understand her vision, yet she persisted in her work and succeeded. These saints share in common the fact that they faced misunderstanding or opposition from at least some church leaders, yet they lived holy lives and the Church eventually recognized their holiness. Their examples show that being disliked or misunderstood in your own time does not prove you are not holy.

The Question of Personal Holiness Versus Official Recognition

There is a difference between being holy in truth and having the Church officially recognize you as holy, and these two things do not always happen at the same time. Holiness is real when you are living a life of sincere faith, virtue, and service to God and others, regardless of whether anyone knows about it or whether anyone officially recognizes it. The Church has a formal process for canonizing saints, which involves investigation into whether a person truly lived a holy life and whether there is evidence of miracles attributed to their intercession. But many holy people have never gone through this process and are not officially recognized as saints by the Church. Your holiness does not depend on the Church ever officially recognizing it; what matters is that you are truly living a holy life and that God knows the truth about your heart and your efforts. In fact, some of the holiest people in history were never well known even in their own communities; they lived their faith quietly and humbly without seeking recognition. A parent who raises children in the faith, a nurse who cares for the sick with compassion, a worker who does their job with integrity, a person who prays faithfully and serves others quietly—all of these people can be holy even if no one officially recognizes them as such. The Church’s formal process of canonization is important for the Church as an institution and can help teach and inspire people, but it is not the measure of who is actually holy. You can be truly holy and completely unknown to the broader Church, just as you can be well known and honored yet lacking in genuine holiness. The measure of your holiness is between you and God, not between you and church institutions or authorities.

Living Holiness in the Face of Ongoing Disagreement

It is possible to live a holy life over a long period while continuing to disagree with church authorities about important matters. This requires developing certain inner qualities, including patience, trust in God, and the ability to separate your sense of self-worth from external approval or disapproval. You must learn to hold your convictions firmly while accepting that the world and the Church may not recognize that you are right; this is an advanced form of virtue. Saint Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4 that he had finished his race and kept the faith, and that now a crown of righteousness awaited him; this shows that your ultimate validation comes from God, not from people. Many faithful Catholics throughout history have lived their entire lives in tension with some church authorities, yet they remained devoted to their faith and to living virtuous lives. This is not easy, and it requires constantly returning to prayer to renew your commitment to following Christ rather than seeking approval from people. Part of living with ongoing disagreement is accepting that you may never win the argument or convince those in authority that you are right. You can release yourself from the burden of needing to be proven right; instead, you can focus on being faithful and doing what you believe is right. This does not mean giving up on trying to address problems you see or accepting injustice, but rather it means that you do your part and then entrust the outcome to God. Living holy amid disagreement also means not allowing bitterness to take root in your heart; bitterness eats away at your own spiritual life and prevents you from growing in virtue. You can be firm in your beliefs and still be free from anger, resentment, and the constant anger that comes from feeling misunderstood.

Growing Spiritually Through Difficult Relationships

Relationships with church authorities that are difficult or strained can actually become opportunities for spiritual growth if you approach them with the right attitude. Difficult relationships teach you patience, how to love people you do not agree with, and how to hold your own convictions while respecting others. These are all important virtues that make you more holy, not less holy. When you must work with someone you disagree with or even dislike, you are practicing the virtue of charity, which means willing the good of the other person and treating them with respect regardless of how they treat you. This kind of charity is far more challenging than showing kindness to people who are easy to like, and therefore it is a powerful way to grow in holiness. Your faith is tested and deepened in these difficult situations; you learn what you really believe and whether you are truly committed to following Christ even when it is hard. Many saints have written about how they grew closer to God precisely through difficulties and conflicts with others. Saint Paul himself faced significant conflicts with other leaders in the early Church, and his letters show a person deeply committed to truth and to the faith even in the midst of disagreement. The question of whether you can be holy and disliked by church authorities becomes very concrete in your own life when you must actually live with such a situation; you discover what your faith really means when it is tested. If you approach difficult relationships with prayer, with a genuine desire to understand the other person’s perspective, and with commitment to your own spiritual growth, then these relationships can become some of the most valuable means of becoming more holy.

Recognizing When to Accept Limits

There are times when the most holy response to disagreement with church authorities is to accept that you have done what you can and to release the need for a particular outcome. This is different from giving up on your convictions; rather, it means recognizing that you cannot control everything and that God is ultimately in charge. You can express your views, provide information or perspective that church leaders may have missed, and do what seems right to you, and then you must be willing to accept that authorities may still decide differently than you want them to. Accepting limits means letting go of the idea that you must convince everyone to see things your way or that you must win your disagreement with church authorities. This acceptance is a form of surrendering to God’s will, which is one of the most important practices in the spiritual life. Saint Paul wrote in Philippians 4 that you should bring your requests to God with thanksgiving and that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and mind. This peace is available to you even in situations of ongoing disagreement or frustration with authorities. Accepting limits does not mean that you become passive or stop caring about important matters; rather, it means that you do care deeply but you are not attached to a particular outcome. This is a difficult balance to strike, but saints throughout the centuries have shown that it is possible. You can be someone who speaks the truth, stands for justice, and challenges authority when necessary, while at the same time accepting that God is ultimately in control and that God’s purposes may be different from your own. This combination of active commitment and peaceful acceptance is a hallmark of holiness.

The Peace That Comes with Acceptance

When you have done what you believe is right, expressed your concerns honestly, and made your best efforts to address problems you see, then peace becomes available to you regardless of whether things turn out the way you wanted. This peace does not come from getting your way or from being right; it comes from knowing that you have acted with integrity and that you have been faithful to God. Many people struggle with the need to be right, to be vindicated, or to have others recognize that they were correct all along. This need for external validation prevents peace and keeps you locked in internal struggle even when external circumstances cannot be changed. God offers you peace even while you are in conflict with church authorities, even while you are frustrated with decisions they have made, and even while you disagree with their approach. This peace comes through trusting that God is ultimately in control and that God cares about truth and justice even if human authorities sometimes miss these things. The Catechism points out that peace is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and that those who work for peace are blessed. Peace in the context of disagreement with authority means that you are not torn apart internally by anger, bitterness, and the need to win. You can disagree and still have peace; you can be frustrated and still have peace; you can believe someone in authority is wrong and still have peace. This peace is available through prayer, through trust in God, and through the willingness to accept that you cannot control everything. Many Catholics who have lived through difficult times with church authorities have testified that their holiness grew precisely because they learned to find this peace despite the external conflict.

Conclusion: Holiness Transcends Human Approval

The answer to the question of whether you can be holy and disliked by church authorities is yes, clearly and definitely. Holiness is not granted by people in authority and cannot be taken away by their disapproval; it is the result of your sincere effort to live according to God’s grace and to follow Christ’s example. Your path to holiness may involve disagreement with church authorities, and this disagreement does not automatically disqualify you from being holy. What matters for your holiness is that you form your conscience carefully, that you act with integrity and honesty, that you remain open to correction, and that you genuinely try to serve God and others. Church authorities have a real role to play in the Church, and obedience to legitimate authority is a virtue, but obedience is not absolute and does not override conscience or basic moral truth. If you face disapproval from church leaders, you should take this seriously and examine yourself to see whether they might be right; but you should not simply accept that their disapproval proves you are not holy. The examples of saints throughout Church history show us that misunderstanding, disagreement, and even official condemnation by church authorities during someone’s lifetime do not prevent that person from being genuinely holy. What prevents holiness is sin, refusal to repent, hardness of heart, and turning away from God; disapproval from church authorities is not the same as any of these things. You can stand firm in what you believe is right, you can respectfully express disagreement with those in authority, and you can continue to live a holy life devoted to God and service to others. Your ultimate answer is not to the approval or disapproval of humans but to God, who judges the heart and who knows your sincere intentions and efforts. The Church teaches that all people are called to holiness, and this call applies equally whether you are loved or disliked by church authorities.