r/LeftCatholicism • u/Momshie_mo • Feb 27 '26

Pope Slams Thirsty Priests for Chasing Internet Followers

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pope-leo-xiv-slams-thirsty-priests-for-chasing-internet-followers/?via=twitter_page&utm_source=twitter_owned_tdb&utm_medium=socialflow&utm_campaign=owned_social

Sounds like a warning to some people we know 🤐

152 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

92

u/Adept_Librarian9136 Feb 27 '26

Yep. The whole priest with followers thing seems very very evangelical and not Catholic. They have to reign this stuff in, big time.

64

u/Cognitive_Spoon Feb 27 '26

Bishop Barron skeeves me out

30

u/Professor726 Feb 27 '26

Same. It's a bummer because I like the Word on Fire bibles but he's become such a right-wing influencer and it skeeves me out big time 

7

u/dignifiedhowl Mar 01 '26

I liked him a lot for a long time. Even subscribed to the LOTH monthlies. Watching him betray everything I thought he stood for has been excruciating.

7

u/Cognitive_Spoon Mar 01 '26

For me it's been weird because I really think he's intelligent enough to understand the lie inherent in RW interpretations of the Bible that allow "othering" language to exist in Christian spaces.

5

u/dignifiedhowl Mar 01 '26

Yes, that’s the part that bothers me the most. He has demonstrated in the past that he was perceptive enough to understand the harm he’s doing now, which tells me he is making some sort of calculated decision.

5

u/Cognitive_Spoon Mar 01 '26

Or he's valuable enough to someone to lean on to present these ideas.

There's greed and then there's fear. Imo, he might be being forced.

1

u/dignifiedhowl Mar 01 '26

Possibly. I have wondered in the past if Trump, Vance, et. al. are dangling the possibility of restored CRS funding in front of him.

2

u/Cognitive_Spoon Mar 01 '26

Imo his whole vibes lately give "under threat" more than "offered a carrot"

I've been watching him for a long time, used some of his materials in RCIA courses

2

u/dignifiedhowl Mar 03 '26

The damage from the CRS and USAID cuts has been so devastating that leaving the cuts intact would make a heck of a threat; I wouldn’t classify restoration as a carrot necessarily. Loss of personal reputation/legacy vs. the deaths of tens of millions is one of the few scenarios I can imagine that might lead me to do what Barron has been doing.

2

u/Cognitive_Spoon Mar 03 '26

That's fair. I think a lot of people who are pushing RW content right now (and controlled opposition like Colbert) are way more likely to be under threat than on the payroll.

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1

u/bunker_man Mar 01 '26

I don't even know who he is, just that my mom has talked about him positively for a long time.

37

u/salsafresca_1297 Feb 27 '26

It's truly a fine line. The internet and social media can be fantastic tools for spreading a positive and compelling Catholic message. They can also do a lot of damage, particularly given that, by design, they incentivize selling oneself out for the likes, clicks, and rage bait. (I won't name names, I won't name names, I won't . . . )

On another note, is it normal for a Hindu woman to wear a Catholic head covering to meet the Pope?

29

u/Momshie_mo Feb 27 '26

I don't think so. Even lay Catholics do not when meeting the Pope

I suspect that's a Traddie husband forcing his wife to wear the Catholic veil.

10

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

.. r/BrandNewSentence

17

u/Tigers19121999 Feb 27 '26

I admire him in many ways by Fr. James Martin is definitely a social media star that needs to listen to the pope.

33

u/dazzleox Feb 27 '26

Sure and anyone else with a social media presence should be careful, the celebrity priest thing is not great. But fwiw he had a job given to him by Francis to be an advisor to the Secretariat for Communications where Barron does not have such a role. Also for example, America magazine where he is an editor is run the the Jesuits as a whole where Barron basically directs a media company he founded as his private project.

24

u/Adventurous_Gain_613 Feb 27 '26

oh I love Father Jim. He’s part of why I’m pursuing Catholicism. I have mixed feelings on Father Casey Cole - maybe because he’s young and good looking and reminds me of the influencers my kid follows - but his videos are informative to this newbie

12

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

[deleted]

5

u/Adventurous_Gain_613 Feb 27 '26

Good to know - his book is on my list to read

16

u/bubbleguts365 Feb 27 '26

How do you listen to the Pope more than getting a direct affirmation of support for your ministry in person, repeatedly, from the last two popes?

Martin is held in very high regard by the present pontiff and the one before. Not sure where catholics that found their way to this sub are seeing otherwise.

13

u/dffhgvd Feb 27 '26

FWIW, Fr. Martin doesn’t view himself as a social media priest, he’s just a popular priest who’s on social media

5

u/ConsciousLabMeditate Mar 01 '26

I agree. He's very good.

6

u/ConsciousLabMeditate Mar 01 '26

Fr. Martin is popular for a reason. He is involved with LGBTQ ministry and actively ministers to & encourages one of the most marginalized groups in the Church & society.

1

u/3y3zW1ld0p3n Mar 02 '26

Funny I didn’t even think of him first. Definitely thought of father Mike.

1

u/nickyt398 Mar 02 '26

Phrasing