Tonight on Perspectives: Is blogging a help or a hindrance to the Church?

Jenna Murphy

May 13, 2011
It started as a tribute to a Church he loves dearly and now it sustains him as his only means of income.
Rocco Palmo is a blogger. And an impassioned one at that. Rocco is the man behind Whispers in the Loggia, arguably the most referenced Catholic blog in the English language. This week Rocco joins S+L producer Kris Dmytrenko and Perspectives host Pedro Guevara Mann for a round table on the merits and perceived deficiencies of the Catholic blogosphere.
But they’re not the only ones making this assessment. The time is ripe for this discussion.
Two weeks ago, the Vatican opened its arms to bloggers opening their laptops.  In one historic stroke, Archbishop Claudio Celli and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications held the first annual four-hour symposium for bloggers around the world.
So what do you think about Catholic blogging? Is it a help or a hindrance to the mission of the Church? We picked up quite a bit of discussion on Facebook. Here’s what some of you had to say:
Andrea L. H. Hughes: Blogs are typically the opinion of each blogger. How can one really understand the bloggers' motives? Many who claim to be Catholic are actually dissenters whose aim is to destroy the church. Freedom of speech allows a blogger to say whatever is on his/her mind, which is why I avoid most of them. Just provide me with the facts, I will make up my own mind.
Timothy Keslick : Personally, I think a good Catholic blog is one that has a balance of information as well as personal testimony and opinion. While looking for information, I also want to see how the current happenings in the Church are affecting other Catholics. Also, I think all of us can agree that seeing someone's testimony and being able to connect to our own faith journey helps foster that sense of community and togetherness that the Church strives for.
Join us for what is sure to be a fascinating discussion on the changing terrain of Catholic communications. It's an episode of Perspectives weekly you won’t want to miss. That’s tonight at 7 & 11pm ET, 8pm PT.