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Surveying the Catholic blogosphere

Posted by Michael Paulson September 28, 2008 10:31 AM

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In the National Catholic Reporter, Patrick Gallagher takes a stab at making some sense of St. Blog's Parish, the disparate, and dissonant, world of blogs about Catholicism. An excerpt from Gallagher's review:

"There are roughly 1,300 Catholic blogs. Though there are 65 million American Catholics, it’s rare for any blog to exceed 40,000 visitors in a week. Acknowledging this modest impact, one blogger asked, 'How many of your friends and neighbors read Catholic blogs?' James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of My Life with the Saints, summarized the Catholic blogosphere this way: 'At their best, Catholic blogs serve the same function as do the entry halls that are part of new church buildings in this country: as a place to learn about church news, discuss the issues of the day, and get to know one’s fellow Catholics. At their worst, some Catholic blogs are a place to trade mean-spirited insults about Catholics with whom the bloggers disagree. Some of the more vituperative blogs seem barely Christian, let alone Catholic.'"

Gallagher lists some award-winning blogs; if you have a favorite, feel free to post a comment with your recommendation, and your rationale, here.

(Photo by Wiqan Ang/Globe staff.)

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8 comments so far...
  1. You can find some great podcasts and blogs at www.sqpn.com with Fr Roderick. Worth checking out - very good!

    Posted by JOhn Vaughn September 28, 08 04:46 PM
  1. A local one that's great:
    http://www.concordpastor.blogspot.com/
    by Father Austin Fleming, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Concord, MA
    He includes a lot of his own material, including a Monday morning offering series and his outstanding Sunday homilies, as well as links to lots of other blogs.
    Another well done blog by a "young" religious sister:http://anunslife.org/

    Posted by Shawn September 28, 08 07:23 PM
  1. Another by a Jesuit in training: http://ryandunssj.blogspot.com/
    He also has links to lots of other Catholic blogs.

    This one is by a religious BROTHER (a forgotten vocation in the Church today...): http://www.brpatricksblog.blogspot.com/

    Posted by Shawn September 28, 08 07:26 PM
  1. "At their worst, some Catholic blogs are a place to trade mean-spirited insults about Catholics with whom the bloggers disagree. Some of the more vituperative blogs seem barely Christian, let alone Catholic.'"

    Alas, the separation of church and state cannot save thee from thine self. If you're going to be in the majority (locally) and parade your faith as a litmus test for your voting block, you might expect disagreement.

    Posted by chosen1 September 29, 08 10:59 AM
  1. Posted by Edward O'Connor September 29, 08 11:11 AM
  1. If you can only read one blog, read whispersintheloggia, as mentioned above in the comments.

    If you can only read two, add Paulson's...you know, the guy at the Globe ;-)

    But if you have time for THREE, and you're into Catholic stuff, check own my own new entry... http://nancydallavalle.blogspot.com/

    After I talk about Catholic women in the public square at Fairfield University on 1 October, I'll be blogging frequently about the election.

    Posted by Nancy Dallavalle September 29, 08 12:19 PM
  1. Holy Holy Holy..... here we go again - it's all about the Catholics.

    Posted by Jeff Freeman September 29, 08 12:46 PM
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Michael Paulson covers religion for The Boston Globe. He shared in the Pulitzer Prize in 2003, won the Mike Berger, Templeton and Supple awards in 2008, and is a four-time winner of the Wilbur Award.
E-mail mpaulson@globe.com.

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