We believe in a forefront of renewal in Catholic theology and community.
This automatically means we’re rebels in the face of academia. But then… the Holy Spirit never confined himself to ‘Big Catholic’ academia. In fact, he deliberately inspired Mary’s Magnificat. Mary, the Icon of Holy Wisdom, announces that God has ‘dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.’
Today, amid a cataract of traditions, trending content, renewal, and a return to origins, the smart thing for Catholics to do is follow the magisterium and guidance of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. We root ourselves in wisdom, meaning a hungry openness and learning.
This substack is a group effort from some of our members, and a way for us to share what we think with the world and each other.
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SmartCatholics is a community on mission:
We believe in practicing radical hospitality and a first-responder ethos.
We believe in accompaniment, and that wisdom is found in the traditions of all peoples.
Narcissism, tribalism, and spiritual abuse often run deep in humans. We intentionally cultivate humility, freedom of opinion, and mature discernment.
We work to excel at de-escalating tension in person and online.
Pope Francis is our spiritual guide, and a gift to our era. He continues to push us out of our comfort zones and rigorism into the real world of human contact and communion.
We stand alongside our friends at Where Peter Is, and their heroic efforts to publicly stand with the Holy Father and his mission.
We need to continue the regeneration of our church - meaning less clericalism, less academic theology, and more of a foraging of the fringes, all the places where the Holy Spirit is active. Everything Pope Francis is calling for.
We are especially on mission to regenerate how we understand our faith for a millennial audience. We don’t believe in the ‘popular’ myth that young people are flocking to traditionalism. We do think youth are hungry for real witness, real beauty, and real communion - as in every age. Youth today are also extremely cynical and quick to discern inauthenticity.
To be clear: we don’t believe Pope Francis is perfect. He makes mistakes, and errs based on the information he has at hand. But we certainly don’t believe in the silly hysteria of papal heresy.
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We’re looking for friendly, insightful, thought-provoking content.
While we avoid news commentary, our focus is on exploring and explaining the words, intentions, and documents of Pope Francis. We submit to his magisterium, and cultivate our own freedom to celebrate wisdom wherever it is found.
We welcome content from our members and creators who love our mission, and want to explore what we think together. If you want to submit a post, send your request here! We will not publish everything, and can’t respond to everyone.
We do promise to be as fair as possible to all readers and writers, but we will hold hard to our values of exploring the teachings and application of Pope Francis in today’s world. That already is a massive spectrum.
Our Team
