Back in the good ol days during the late 90’s and early 2000’s, before the real rise of the phenomenon of the internet, it was easier and less complicated to be fed as a Catholic via social media. There was less fat and not a lot of high calorie carbs.

You could pick up a book by a great author like Peter Kreeft to convince you that the bible was truly indeed a Catholic book and you should remain Catholic. You could turn on the radio and tune into Catholic Answers live as you were delivering pizzas. At home you could turn on EWTN and watch Mother Angelica give pithy lessons about the faith that not only inspired you but made you chuckle. You could order cassette tapes of Catholic bible studies by Scott Hahn so you could dive deeper into scripture. Just don’t leave your Fr. Benedict Groeschel tapes in the car with the doors unlocked overnight. You might find them gone in the morning. And then there was the super pontificate of St. Pope John Paul 2 the great. A pope that made being Catholic look cool and  fashionable.

Back then, at least for me, criticizing the ordinary form of the mass or the second Vatican council was out of the question. They were both supported by all the sources I mentioned in the last paragraph. Attacking the pope was something done by anti-Catholic fundamentalist protestants or atheists.  Catholics loved the pope and let others know about it. It was a good time to be Catholic. Another sign of the times was that there was no widespread controversy about taking vaccines with a real worry that taking them would cause the government to rearrange your DNA by doing so.

Cut to the Present of 2022.

A time when the Covid pandemic is still going on from a few years ago, being on social media is as much of our daily lives as breathing, Peter Kreeft is still writing books and Pope Francis is the current pontiff reigning on the throne of Peter. With the rise of the frequent use of the internet, a string of new voices has arisen to share the gospel. Ministries like Word on Fire, Ascension Presents, SQPN featuring Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World and Fr. Casey Cole bring the joy of the gospel to modern Catholics. But along with rise of positive Catholic voices who spread the actual  teachings of the church that inspire others to love God and neighbor came voices that spread the gospel according to the ultra conservative rad trads who wanted to bring you into the

Catholic Rigorous Vortex.

The CRV is capable of spreading joy, love, wonder and harmony, but their main missionary goal is to find what’s wrong with individual particular Catholics and let the rest of the Catholic world know in no uncertain terms how sinful and far from the Catholic faith they are. The pope and bishops are their #1 targets. I’m sure that the CRV has always existed. But platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have given a voice to certain individuals that would have been muffled had these social media platforms not existed. They seem to dominate the cyber landscape.

Orthodox Devout Catholics

The videos and writings of the CRV are shared by their eager disciples letting the average Catholic know the key to being an Orthodox Devout Catholic. Some of the criteria include…

• Hating the Second Vatican Council.
• Despising the Novus Ordo Mass.
• Not loving the Traditional Latin Mass without telling the world how awful the NO mass is.
  Ex-communicating and trashing Bishop Barron for his ‘Dare to Hope’ Theology and support of Vatican 2 along with Fr. James Martin’s ministry of loving those with same sex attraction is a must.
• Believing that the only way to end abortion is by voting for the only righteous godly party; the Republicans.
• Believing that Donald Trump still is or should be president and is the best option, CORRECTION Only Real Option, as a candidate for the Republican party for president.
• Believing that not only voting for a democrat is a sin, but simply being a democrat is a sin that unless repudiated and brought to confession will land you in hell.
• Believing that Taylor Marshall’s book Infiltration is an historically accurate book.
• Believing that being vaccinated against COVID is a sin that cries out to heaven. Taking the Vaccine not only kills babies but the very people who take the vaccine. It may even change your DNA.
• Believing that changing the teaching on the death penalty was a very bad thing. Why let people live that deserve to die?
• Believing Archbishop Vigano is an anointed prophet of God.

And the # 1 sign of an orthodox devout Catholic according to them is to despise, ridicule, and defy Pope Francis.

The current superstars of Catholic media let us know that he is a heretical and despicable pontiff, in fact the worst pope in the history of the church. One only has to look at the Catholic history of the papacy to debunk that claim and realize that those who still hold to that opinion after doing so are not giving an intellectual opinion based on facts.

CRV Headlines

Here are some of the headlines that might pop up about the pope and other related issues from these Catholic gurus.

• POPE HAILS CARDINAL WHO HIRED GAY HOOKERS
• Viganò: Novus Ordo Mass should be ABOLISHED
• Good to know, Francis. So, listen up! Leave the Latin Mass alone, and stop making cardinals out of apostate pervert-protecting bishops. Did you hear that?
• Faithless FrancisVatican marks No Tobacco Day
• @P_BenedictXVI is still the pope. Not just because of the canonical crimes of the St. Gay-len Mafia in the 03/13 Conclave, but more because his Declaratio did not renounce the office of the papacy per can. 332.2. Ergo, none of Bergoglio’s red hat elevations are valid.

This last one is simply amazing as it came from a former host of Catholic Answers Live.

Remember when it was anti-Catholic fundamentalist Protestants and atheists that attacked the pope? Devout Moderate Sane Catholics remembers.

When all these dour sour invites to hate the pope or other Catholic undesirables appear in our newsfeeds, it can form a cloud of depressing soul sucking gloom. Why can’t we try to enjoy where God has taken his church in 2022. Must we live in 1952?

But just when you think the Francis haters are the only game in town there pops up this headline.

Pope Francis Generation – Podcast Launch!

In the midst of the Pope Francis hating hysterics comes a podcast that explores the idea of religious deconstruction and then explains the three pillars of the Pope Francis Generation: The Kerygma, Theosis, and the teachings of Pope Francis.

And the announcement of this brand new episode comes from one of the few social media websites tp arise to combat the anti-Francis fanatics. That is….

Where Peter Is!

Where Peter Is@Where_Peter_is: Our position on the papacy will not change. As long as Where Peter Is exists, it can be counted on to support the current pope (whoever he is) and seek to defend him and to help people understand his words and actions.

Mike Lewis one of the founders of Where Peter Is, along with Paul Fahey (one of the hosts of PFG) explains how and why it came into existence.

We started WPI because we saw a gap in Catholic media coverage and commentary of Pope Francis in the English-speaking world. Many conservative Catholic media outlets were regularly criticizing Pope Francis, his priorities, and his teachings. They were stoking all kinds of controversies and creating scandal among ordinary Catholics, including many of my friends and family members. The outlets that supported Francis were largely ignoring these issues. Hardly anyone was addressing the growing opposition to the pope, and the reactionary narrative was starting to take hold, because no one was offering the other side of the story on a consistent basis.
Defending the Pope from Relentless Right-Wing Dissent and Attacks: An Interview with Mike Lewis | Millennial (millennialjournal.com)

Over on Twitter Mike Lewis said this

Mike Lewis ��@mfjlewis (Jun 3, 2022): We do actually hear from maybe 2-3 people a week who have reconsidered Francis after reading our site. They often say “it was nothing like what my friends said it was.”

Our “polemical” content is maybe 20-25 percent of our articles.

Our site is run by pro-life/NFP/homeschooler types who are devout Catholics and whose bookshelves are full of Ratzinger and (in my case) Chaput titles, who were kicked out of the Catholic right for the crime of supporting and trying to defend the pope. And we’re called Leftists.

And frankly, the shrill attacks and sheer anger we get from trads and the Catholic right have opened our eyes to the deep sickness in that culture.

Where Peter Is, is a breath of fresh air on social media. A place where normal sane devout faithful Catholics can converge without fear of someone going off and spewing vile garbage about the pope. It’s a place that looks compassionately at the issues of our modern world and brings them to the heart of Christ within his church. It may critique certain beliefs and ideas of fellow baptized believers but without the definitive anger that permeates those other apostolates.

If you looking for a different perspective on Catholic issues yet one that remains orthodox and faithful to Catholic teaching, try to Read Where Peter Is.

Mike Lewis@mfjlewis: Going out on a limb to venture that @Where_Peter_is
is the only online Catholic publication in the universe with regular contributions from a cloistered nun, a former SSPX priest, and a hermit who lives in Spain with four mules. Are you reading it?

Do you know Where Peter Is?

It’s @ Where Peter Is – there is the Church

In the follow up post to this one I plan on giving samples of some of the things you will find on Where Peter Is.