The Danger for Catholic Influencers and Professional Catholics

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Back in the day, when I was a Professional Catholic¹, I had a moment of deep fear as I was teaching a group of catechists. Someone asked me a question, I don’t even remember what it was, and I was not exactly sure of the right answer, but my public speaking instinct kicked in and I spoke with confidence and answered the question the way I thought it should be answered. Then, for the next ten minutes my mouth was on autopilot and my brain was panicking…Was I right? Did I get that answer from the Church, or from my head? What if I am wrong and they believe me? Of course they believe me! I am the authority in the room! But what if I am wrong?

“It were better for him, that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should scandalize one of these little ones.” Luke 17:2

Somewhere in the remainder of that talk I went back and downgraded my answer from an authoritative tone to a qualified “I may not be right on this, so check…” statement. And in future public speaking events I really tried to admit if I wasn’t sure or didn’t know.

Fast forward to today, with the proliferation of opportunities for professional Catholics and Catholic influencers to make public statements in the moment. Some of these people have, at their fingertips, as much as a million followers, others as few as a thousand, or fewer. Before social media, I may have, once or twice, had a crowd of fifty, at most, who were listening to me in a short period of time, most likely never to see me again. In other words, the reach of today’s Professional Catholic, and Catholic Influencer is magnitudes larger than mine ever was. And yet, their influence isn’t any less momentous. In fact, I suspect they are far more influential because society is more able to be influenced by a two sentence Tweet, or a picture on Instagram, or a discussion on Facebook, than they ever were by a forty minute talk at a conference.

In the early days of the recent plague, when the controversial medicines were being distributed, before we were talking about sudden cardiac arrest, and Catholics were talking about abortion tainted injections, I found myself confronted with Catholic Influencers on social media that I knew and loved who were touting their injections with pictures of their cards or their bandaged arms.

I was so offended I muted, hid, and eventually left some of the social media sites altogether. It would have been different if I could have had these conversations one on one, or in person. But, from my point of view, these people were attempting to influence my conscience through their own decisions. In other words, it is one thing to DO something that someone you know may find is not ethical, according to their conscience. You know you may influence them, they have the opportunity to discuss it with you or not. It is another thing altogether to advertise your choice in a venue that is all about influencing others, and doing that with the Catholic label which gives you implicit authority in the eyes of many. Your followers may very likely be influenced to overcome their conscience and thereby violate it because of your influence.

The social influencer touting a brand of makeup, or an RV lifestyle, or a type of music is in very little danger of leading someone astray in any real way. However, a Catholic influencer is in danger of misrepresenting Church teaching or leading someone to violate their conscience by speaking and sharing their lives in such a forum that implies expertise or authority.

If a Catholic listens to a Catholic podcast they expect Catholic content. The podcaster thereby accepts some responsibility for those who listen, and the choices they make, and share, become by extension “Catholic” choices.

For example, the movie Oppenheimer. When we first heard of the movie it sounded interesting. Many people like the director. Then, we heard a Catholic podcast touting the movie. I also read a Catholic Influencer on Twitter canning it. But neither mentioned the most troubling content. Then I checked the IMDB website, under Parents Guide and found there were extended scenes of female nudity, among other objectionable content (since then, the paragraph on IMDB has been shortened and contains less information). Neither Catholic Influencer mentioned these scenes. When I was a young person, that kind of scene would have been only in an X-rated movie. Do they even have those anymore? That bit of information made this movie out of the question for anyone in my household. If I hadn’t looked, various people in my house may have been unwittingly exposed to images we wished we hadn’t seen.

Of course, from the point of view of the consumer of podcast and social media, it is my responsibility to verify anything presented as Church teaching as much as possible, and to make my own social choices, such as movies to watch, medical decisions, etc. However, as the scripture quote above states, that does not release the influencer from his or her responsibility.

Many Catholic Influencers and Professional Catholics realize that the vast majority of people who identify themselves as Catholic know little of what the Church teaches and are highly influenced by the prevailing culture. If the neighbor kids see the movie, their kids see the movie. If the headlines say that uncomfortable Catholic teaching is from the stone ages, well, we can just skip that one. And if we look closely, we find that the Professional Catholics and Catholic Influencers are often also highly influenced by the prevailing culture, and desire to be seen to be in touch with the most popular aspects of it.

So if a Catholic family wakes up and tries to buck the culture a little and find out what the Church really teaches about God and have a deep desire to live their lives as boldly Catholic, they have a plethora of sources to influence them. They can find many YouTube channels, podcasts, Twitterati, Facebook pages, and Instagram accounts to feed them Catholic content. How is the blooming Catholic to know who speaks the truth, or how to determine the everyday Catholic life to which God is calling their family? It is too easy to substitute the conscience of the Influencer or Professional Catholic for my conscience. Is it okay to let my kids go see that movie? Well, Professional Catholic on that Catholic podcast took his kids, so it must be okay—rather than, I should check the IMDB or some other site and find out what is actually in the movie and then determine if I am comfortable with my kids seeing it. Is it okay to cooperate with the abortion industry in any way? Well that Catholic on instagram did so it must be okay.

Obviously, parents and individuals have the responsibility of verifying if their choices are moral, if their convictions align with the truth. But the Professional Catholic and the Catholic Influencer have a real responsibility to their audience to be sure they are, first of all, not wrong, and also, not too influential on the lives of their followers.

That millstone is a heavy weight to carry and the internet is an easy place in which to get it tangled around your neck.

These statements made about God and his Church have not been evaluated by Heaven or The Catholic Church. They are not guaranteed to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any spiritual condition or disease, nor are they guaranteed to be worded in the best and most accurate way. Please consult with your own priest, the Catechism, or God himself regarding the statements and analogies made in this article.

1. My definition of a Professional Catholic in anyone who gets paid by a Catholic organization (parish, charity, publication, etc), especially if their job requires public articulation of the Church’s teaching or position. A Catholic Influencer is anyone on social media who is known to be Catholic and has influence (followers, etc).