Persecution Then and Now, by James Kalb   

To persecute is to push down on a weaker group, at least somewhat continuously, in order to weaken or destroy it.

For Catholics, the example that sets the type is the persecution of Christians in ancient Rome. That could be quite severe, although the nature of Roman society and government meant it was mostly sporadic and localized.

The usual penalty for obdurate adherence to Christianity was death. That was cruel, but it reflected the limitations of pre-modern government. There were few public officials. Families and communities organized themselves and ran their own affairs, with the general government mostly carrying out a few specific functions: defense against invasion, maintenance of public order, administration of justice, public works like roads, harbors, and aqueducts, and—of course—collecting taxes. …

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