A quickly forgotten film last year painted the portrait of a tech company that ran amok with its ambition to know and share everything. Just as we often learn a lesson through extreme examples of what can happen, The Circle, based on a 2013 novel by Dave Eggers, provided a chilling look at what a … Read more
On June 27, 2017 there came an announcement that was remarked upon for all the wrong reasons. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, proclaimed to the world that the social network had 2 billion users online. Simply a sign of a successful business venture? Merely also a sign of the times in which we live? To … Read more
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? ∼ T.S. Eliot, Choruses from the Rock A little over a decade ago, I sat behind a one-way mirror in a nondescript office building outside Denver, watching a focus group go through the motions with a skilled … Read more
At the end of last year, a noted Catholic book publisher offered me a contract to write a book based on four columns I wrote three years ago. The stories were about three children who died young after suffering greatly but also bringing many to the faith through their suffering, their example and their prayers. … Read more
Summertime is a favorite time for some favorite reading—but in these times, and in these summers, the issue is not simply, “What is to be read?” but “How is it to be read?” Readers are not only what they read, but also how they read; and civilized readers should not read like boors. Thus, they … Read more
And so, the pope tweeted. What he said far less important than the fact that he tweeted — but what he said is nonetheless revealing. His tweet: “Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.” What is significant about this comes down to the … Read more
Pope Benedict recently praised new media and social networking, while also warning people of its dangers: He said the possibilities of new media and social networks offered “a great opportunity,” but warned of the risks of depersonalization, alienation, self-indulgence, and the dangers of having more virtual friends than real ones. “It is important always to remember … Read more
“Do you watch The Bachelor?” the woman cutting my hair the other day wanted to know. “No,” I answered. But then, because I don’t want to become known around town as that crazy woman who has a million kids and is completely out of touch with the real world, I added quickly, “But I did … Read more
As most InsideCatholic readers may know by now, Thomas Peters of American Papist fame has joined forces with our friends at CatholicVote.org (Brian Burch and Joshua Mercer). You can bookmark the new American Papist location here. I asked young Thomas why he made the move. He put down his brew slowly and replied, A) I’ve … Read more
In his “World Day of Communications” address released over the weekend, Pope Benedict encouraged priests to take advantage of the new media on behalf of the new evangelization: The pope, whose own presence on the Web has heavily grown in recent years, urged priests on Saturday to use all multimedia tools at their disposal to … Read more