>>>turn their sights onto their own Church
And I think the obvious weapon they will use is to politicize, divide, the Church. They already have their framework of “socialism is Christian” in several forms.
However this challenge is met, I think keeping the Church grounded as it always has been in spirit, keeping Her from being politicized is important.
IMHO, of course.
The Catholic Church is NOT a democracy; it is a theocracy. Contemporary secular society has this nasty habit of lumping individuals by political stances; hence they project and attribute the same categorization on religious organizations. Hence the great misunderstanding over the pope's statement regarding HIV Aids and condoms.
Founded by Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church has existed for 2000 years. The Church is apostolic. She is built on a lasting foundation: 'the twelve apostles of the Lamb' [Rev 21:14.]. She is indestructible (cf. Mt 16:18). She is upheld infallibly in the truth: Christ governs her through Peter and the other apostles, who are present in their successors, the Pope and the college of bishops. (ccc 869)
Many rulers have tried to topple her, without success. The one reassurance we Catholics have is that the gates of Hell will not prevail against Christ's Church (Matthew 16:18).