Librarian Rachelle Linner explores the Roman Catholic blogosphere — “St. Blog’s Parish,” as it’s known — and finds it wanting. “The clearest way to understand much of the Catholic blog phenomenon is to perceive it as a form of personal apologetics. Bloggers take advantage of the Internet’s characteristic strengths—openness, low cost, and autonomy (read: no editors)—to engage in what in this case was previously a specialized ministry. Blogging is analogous to the street preaching of the Catholic Evidence Guild” — only, she adds, lacking erudition, prudence, and intelligence.
The Revealer is more optimistic, which is why we’re putting our two cents in the St. Blog’s Parish collection plate, with a new Revealer Guide to Erudite, Prudent, or (at the very least), Intelligent Catholic blogs. Right now it’s a short list, but that’s no sleight against St. Blog’s. Rather it’s an invitation for Revealer readers to help build this virtual cathedral.