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Digital Dunces

NCR graphic/Angie Von Slaughter
"Digital Dunces" is a column meant to hold church leaders, prominent Catholics and Christian communicators accountable for what they say online. This column will expose poor online behavior, fact-check dubious digital claims and shed light on lesser known social media stories.
President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a National Day of Prayer event, May 1, 2025, in the White House Rose Garden. (Official White House Photo/Molly Riley)

'Catholics loved it' says Trump over sacrilegious AI image of himself as pope

By John Grosso

Despite the firestorm surrounding his "Pope Trump" post, President Donald Trump claimed that the outrage was not from the millions of Catholics offended by his actions, but instead engineered by the "fake news media."

Trump twet
NCR Voices

One image represents the Church of Christ. The other, the Church of Trump

By John Grosso

"Thou shalt not worship false Gods" seems an apropos warning in Donald Trump's America.  

Cardinal Tagle
Vatican News

Social media conservatives attempt to smear a papal contender

By John Grosso

The proliferation of social media use since the last conclave has plunged us into uncharted territory — as conservatives campaign online for one cardinal and smear another. 

JD Vance attends the Good Friday mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Friday, April 18, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

A tone-deaf Good Friday tweet from US embassy at Vatican: Curb illegal immigration

By John Grosso

The US’s official X account at the Holy See trumpeted the Trump administration’s immigration policy as JD Vance arrives in Rome.

Napa Institute co-founder Timothy Busch speaks during Napa's annual summer conference July 22-24. About 700 people gathered in person for the event at Busch's Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, California, with thousands more watching online. (NCR)
NCR Voices

Is Trump's administration the 'most Christian' ever? Fact-checking Tim Busch

By John Grosso

The founder of the conservative Napa Institute, Busch makes an extraordinary claim. It strains credulity.

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington March 4, 2025. (OSV News/Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
NCR Voices

Bishop Barron compares Trump's address to Congress to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

By John Grosso

Bishop Robert Barron was "delighted" to attend President Donald Trump's joint address to Congress and celebrate a private Mass for lawmakers, he said on a lengthy social media video about his "thrilling" trip.

Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minn., speaks at the Star of the North Eucharistic Congress at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minn., May 18, 2024. (OSV News/Courtney Meyer)
NCR Voices

Word extinguished: Bishop Barron's digital silence

By John Grosso

When confronted with a perceived slight to his brand of Catholicism, Bishop Robert Barron is quick to post on social media. But when it comes to those on the margins, his alleged prophetic voice is conspicuously silent.

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