Talisman

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9 Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”
10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died (1 Sam 4:1-11). 

A winning formula for losing is to assume you can't lose. That happens in politics, economics, and sports. If you think you're unbeatable, that attitude makes it more likely that someone will beat you. That's because you underestimate your opponent. You get cocky and lazy. 

Watching the Catholic church is like those sci-fi stories in which alien invaders take over by means of infiltration. They quietly replace humans with alien lookalikes. Your neighbors begin to change. Your coworkers begin to change. Even your spouse and kids begin to change. By the time you realize what's happening, it's too late. You're cornered and outnumbered. 

Pious Catholics and Catholic apologists assume their denomination is invincible. They think Mt 16:18 is a promise to and for their denomination. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church of Rome. 

In the meantime, outsiders like me watch as key institutions in Catholicism are co-opted by modernists. Catholic colleges and seminaries. The priesthood. The episcopate. All the way up to the pope. Like alien invaders who systematically replace humans with alien operatives. 

Assuming your denomination can't be taken over is the very way your denomination can be taken over. Your false sense of security gives the modernists an opening. The Israelites thought the ark of the covenant made them undefeatable. And, ironically, that's why they got creamed.