3 Ways to Avoid Catholic Drama on Social Media

If you’re a Catholic on social media, you know what I mean when I say that there’s a lot of drama in the Church. It feels like every Catholic with an account is sharing his or her opinion on Pope Francis, the Latin Mass and controversial Church leaders. Tragically, this often comes out in derogatory comments and broad accusations. It was this culture that led me to leave my secure job as a journalist in Catholic media. 

Although I admit I still very much struggle with the never-ending fights among Catholics online, there are a few things I’ve learned and implemented that have helped me cope with this challenge and not allow it to pull me away from God. 

Focus on the facts 

It’s easy to get riled up about headlines and one-sentence posts. But it happens far less frequently if you go to the original source about a claim instead of taking somebody’s opinion as Gospel truth. For example, if a prominent Catholic puts out a statement on X paraphrasing the words of Pope Francis and those words sound scandalous, go to the source of the post. Find the exact words of the pontiff, not an interpretation.  

Every time I follow this original source rule, I find greater clarity and peace. When you find yourself riled up about something and feeling an urge to lash out in anger or retribution, take a step back. If you think a social media fight about a given issue is worth your time, then so is finding the original source on your own. You may find that you don’t need to engage after all, sparing you an emotional burden.  

Remember that you are dust 

Alongside the original source rule is a key aspect of building a character of integrity: having the humility to remember that you are dust. This means a couple things. First, to put it quite bluntly, your opinion (and mine) doesn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things. We may get prideful and think our opinions are major turning points in an argument, but we’re just not that significant.  

Second, the reality that we are dust means that we are nothing without God. But with His grace, we can move mountains. So, while our own human opinions and actions are like a speck of sand on a beach, they are the tools of miracles when given to God. He longs for our cooperation, our “yes” and our willingness to give up our pride for His glory.  

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of humility when it comes to the Catholic social media wars. Ask yourself if you want to engage with someone because it’s what God is leading you to or if it is to satisfy your own pride.  

Nurture your trust in God 

The single most important lesson I’ve learned by witnessing the division among Catholics online is to double down on efforts to deepen my faith. It’s beyond discouraging to see your family divided. And it’s so easy to believe the devil when he tries to pin the blame on God. But the Holy Spirit has never stopped guiding the Church, and never will. 

Whenever you begin to feel overwhelmed and discouraged by the division, stop interacting with the world of Catholic social media. Then turn to prayer and allow God to refill your peace and hope; remember the resurrection. I’ve found that having go-to prayer(s) to be extremely helpful and usually fall back on the Acts of Faith, Hope and Love whenever I find myself in this discouragement. 

As I pray daily for unity in the Church, I also pray that three insights I’ve shared here will help others learn to cope with the division that manifests on social media and deepen their relationships with Christ instead of falling away from Him.