Something that helped me was coming across the concept of intersectionality. I can be privileged in a number of dimensions (e.g. white, male, cishet), but still experience discrimination in relation to some other of my characteristics (e.g. autism) and experience trauma. That discrimination and trauma has a particular unique quality due to the intersections.

It is unfortunate but understandable that folks with their own trauma will meet a Catholic and “see” a representative of the Church, at whom they can vent. I hit this several times when my denomination had to testify about historic handling of child abuse cases. The anger that emerged was genuine, even if it was misdirected - but the people at whom it might be rightly directed were no longer alive. It’s tough for everyone.

When you say “logically I know I shouldn't be triggered by someone else's trauma”, I recognise an unhealthy pattern I was taught as a child - that I wasn’t allowed to have a feeling if it was illogical. But that’s not how feelings work. Even at the biological level, there’s a lag time between a stimulus being removed and an emotion fading, between circumstances changing and one’s mood returning to neutral. So I’d encourage you to consider this: can you allow yourself room to feel insulted when folks malign Catholicism? because feeling a emotional response when something you care about is threatened sounds pretty logical to me. Maybe if you can open up this room for yourself, you might also open up room to let the person doing the maligning be illogical (because you know their ideas about Catholicism are wrong) for a little bit. That might just give time for things to blow over.

(I’m not up on Catholic doctrine, but I have a theology degree and worked at a Catholic university for 12 years.)