On October 21, news of Pope Francis’ comments from a 2019 interview included in a new documentary film, which seem to signal his private and personal support for civil unions of homosexuals, made world headlines.
Tag: comment
Finding what we all can agree on
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I have a problem. Every time I see a potentially controversial Facebook post, tweet, message board posting, online news story, or any other message of the sort, I am immediately drawn to and sucked into the comments section.
For those unfamiliar with the more social media-esque methods of sharing news and information, the comments section allows people who’ve read the article — or just glanced at the headline — to type out and share their thoughts on it for all to see. These comments are often opinionated, emotional, or a reflection of one’s thoughts while reading said article or post.
These comments, even in the online Catholic media, can lead to a lot of back and forth debating — or let’s be honest, arguing — sometimes getting very personal.
Surprising lessons from YouTube viewers
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Just last month, my media ministry Word on Fire marked a milestone: 10,000,000 views on our YouTube channel.
This achievement fills me with gratitude both to God and to the many people who watched one or more of the videos I’ve produced. It also provides the occasion for me to reflect a bit on both the pitfalls and advantages of evangelizing through the new media.
An experiment
When we commenced our outreach through YouTube seven years ago, we did so in the manner of an experiment. YouTube had just come into being at that time, and it largely featured crude, homemade videos of cats jumping off the roof and babies gurgling for their mother’s camcorder.
I thought we should try to invade this space with the Gospel, and so I resolved to make short video commentaries on movies, music, current affairs, cultural happenings, etc.