From The Catholic Herald:
One of Italy’s best known priests has announced his intention to leave the priesthood. Father Alberto Ravagnani, a so-called “influencer priest”, has millions of views on YouTube, nearly 300,000 followers on Instagram, and nearly 150,000 on TikTok. He was also involved in the Jubilee of Catholic Digital Missionaries and Influencers held in Rome during last year’s Holy Year.
The question of “influencer priests” has drawn considerable and widespread attention in recent years, with the Vatican hosting a gathering of over 1,000 priests for the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers last year. Whilst it is clear that in some cases priests using modern media has had remarkable success in evangelisation, questions remain over the extent to which, and under what conditions, this should take place.