The perils of Catholic social media evangelism
One of the new crop of self-made and self-credentialed online evangelists has flamed out in spectacular fashion
Editor and co-founder of the Pillar and a canon lawyer.
One of the new crop of self-made and self-credentialed online evangelists has flamed out in spectacular fashion
From our UK edition
The numbers, as the saying goes, don’t lie. And heading into the conclave two days ago, anyone who could count had reason to expect a pope at least in the mould of Pope Francis, who appointed the majority of the cardinal electors. Even so, few predicted the first American Bishop of Rome to emerge in
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Modern popes, for better or for worse, tend to be defined in soundbites. John Paul II’s clarion call of ‘Be not afraid’ became emblematic of his invitation to young Catholics to embrace their faith and his rallying of the West against the spectre of international Communism. Benedict XVI’s great theological career, and his term as
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Freddy Gray speaks to Ed Condon who is the editor of The Pillar. On the podcast they talk about Biden’s Catholicism; how it plays out in his politics and whether it will be a big part of his presidential campaign.
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25 min listen
The Catholic Church is half way through a two-year consultation exercise that will culminate in a ‘Synod on Synodality’ in the Vatican next year. A synod on what? Don’t worry if you’re confused. No one in Rome seems to be able to define synodality, either. What will the world’s bishops discuss? Probably not the figures
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Following Friday’s decision by the Supreme Court to overturn the 50-year-old decision Roe v. Wade, and determine that legislating the legality and limits of abortion is within the power of state legislatures, some pro-abortion activists have targeted the homes of the court’s justices. Others have laid the blame, or part of it at least, at
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So Roe vs. Wade is as good as dead. Americans are about to lose their constitutional right to an abortion. Five out of the nine Supreme Court justices have drafted an opinion in their forthcoming ruling on a Mississippi abortion case which strikes down the 1973 Roe ruling as ‘egregiously wrong from the start’. As
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Every day there’s some sort conspiracy theory being aired by right-wing Catholics on social media involving the globalist agenda of the Pope’s UN/Chinese/Masonic/Soros foundation puppet-masters. No surprise, perhaps, given the fervour with which the Pope promotes a globalist agenda while his diplomats kowtow to Beijing. Some left-wing Catholics are into the conspiracy business, too: in
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The Vatican is this week in the grip of a paranoia reminiscent of the days when Renaissance popes (and their dinner guests) were forced to employ food-tasters. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, until 2018 the sostituto at the Secretariat of State – that is, the Pope’s hugely powerful chief of staff – has been sacked by Francis,
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Last week, Pope Francis sent a message to Chinese Christians urging them to be ‘true Christians and good citizens’. He didn’t mention the growing persecution they face under President Xi’s programme of sinicisation, despite the Vatican-China deal of 2018 under which Francis recognised China’s puppet Catholic Church in return for state tolerance of ‘underground’ Catholics
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21 min listen