Mark Galli receives Communion during Mass at St. Michael Catholic Church early Sept. 8, 2020, in Wheaton, Illinois. RNS photo by Tom Killoran
Mark Galli, formerly editor for the evangelical magazine Christianity Today, has decided to become Roman Catholic. Normally, conversions between Roman Catholicism and Protestant evangelicalism go the other way around: typically, I see a lot of “cradle” Roman Catholics grow up to become Protestant evangelicals. So, why would a Protestant evangelical “cross the Tiber” and make the journey towards Rome?
What makes the Mark Galli story so significant is because Galli was for several years the editor of what many still consider to be the flagship periodical of Protestant evangelicalism, Christianity Today. He also raised a lot of eyebrows in late 2019, when Galli, a moderate conservative who is firmly “pro-life,” with respect to abortion, wrote an editorial calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
It is a good question to consider: Why would someone who once publicly championed the principles of the Protestant Reformation take the Eucharist, with Rome’s understanding of transubstantiation, along with other doctrines of Rome that repel the typical Protestant?
Was part of it the continual drift we see in the Protestant evangelical movement away from centuries-long, established church tradition? In Galli’s case, according to an article in the Roys Report, he was a “cradle” Catholic, who became heavily involved in Presbyterianism as a teenager. He eventually moved towards Anglicanism, and even looked into Eastern Orthodoxy for awhile.
Was it the never-ending fracturing in Protestant evangelicalism, that zapped him of his spiritual energy? Was it the tendency of evangelicals to unite more around politics than solid, Scriptural doctrine? An interview with Galli tells the story.
September 17th, 2020 at 5:58 pm
Hey Clarke, thanks for sharing that interview – great stuff! 🙂
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September 18th, 2020 at 11:33 am
One possible piece to the puzzle as to why Galli returned to Catholicism—character and integrity within American Evangelicalism. A credibility issue that will cause long term damage, much of which is yet to be realized. All very unfortunate.
911 Call From Intoxicated Jerry Falwell Jr.’s House Last Month Describes ‘A Lot Of Blood’ Roque Planas ·National Reporter, HuffPost Thu, September 17, 2020, 5:35 PM EDT
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September 23rd, 2020 at 3:17 pm
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/evangelicals-not-become-catholic/
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September 26th, 2020 at 10:56 am
A Protestant asks Bishop Robert Barron if he should become Roman Catholic:
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October 19th, 2020 at 9:48 pm
Another story of a well-known evangelical who became Roman Catholic, Thomas Howard, sibling of the late Elizabeth Elliot. Howard died last week:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/october/died-thomas-howard-evangelical-catholic-convert.html
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October 25th, 2020 at 7:45 pm
Pope Francis endorses same-sex civil unions, but much of the language here is ambiguous. Nevertheless, many Roman Catholics wonder about the Pope, saying that this is going too far:
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/vatican-may-not-stand-with-popes-support-of-same-sex-unions/
However, some think that this step does not go far enough:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/pope-francis-supports-same-sex-civil-unions-but-the-church-must-do-more
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