Antonio Spadaro

The Reverend Dr.
Antonio Spadaro
SJ
Born (1966-07-06) 6 July 1966
Messina, Sicily, Italy
EducationUniversity of Messina
Pontifical Gregorian University
OccupationsOfficial of the Holy See and Vatican City State
OrganizationSociety of Jesus
TitleEditor of La Civiltà Cattolica
Term1 October 2011 — present
PredecessorGianpaolo Salvini
Successorincumbent

Antonio Spadaro, SJ (born 6 July 1966) is an Italian Jesuit priest, journalist and writer.

Career

Spadaro has been the editor in chief of the Jesuit-affiliated journal La Civiltà Cattolica since 2011. He is also a consultor to both the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Secretariat for Communications (previously known as the Pontifical Council for Social Communications).

He is described as being very close to Pope Francis, who was also a Jesuit.[1][2] The pope named him as the incoming secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education in September 2023.

Controversy

Main articles: Holy See–United States relations and Catholic Church and politics in the United States

In July 2017, Spadaro co-wrote, an article entitled "Evangelical Fundamentalism and Catholic Integralism," in which he and Argentine Presbyterian Marcelo Figueroa criticized the supporters of United States president Donald Trump. The article was approved by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, and published in the Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica.[3] Sparado and Figueroa described American political life as Manichaean and said the Trump administration was responsible for promoting an "apocalyptic geopolitics", comparing American conservative Christians to ISIS.[4][5] Spadaro also criticized American Catholics who supported the conservative movement and Trump in particular.

Spadaro later published an article in which he criticized Trump advisor Steve Bannon for his ideological ties to Calvinist theologian R. J. Rushdoony.[2] He also singled out Church Militant for "shocking rhetoric." Spadaro said that American Catholics and Protestants both promoted an "ecumenism of conflict" over abortion, same-sex marriage, and religious education in schools that also included a "xenophobic and Islamophobic vision", transforming it into an intolerant "ecumenism of hate."[6] The article also criticized conservatives for being uncritical of militarism, capitalism and the arms industry and for disregarding the environment.[1]

Spadaro's critiques were praised by progressive Catholic publications in the United States, such as the National Catholic Reporter and Commonweal.[7][8] He was rebuffed, however, by P.J. Smith in First Things and the retired Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles J. Chaput, who described the criticisms as inaccurate and biased.[9][10][11][12] In 2026, it was revealed that Bannon—a major target of Spadaro's critiques—had attempted to collaborate with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to "take down" Pope Francis.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b "A papal confidant triggers a furore among American Catholics". The Economist. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b Politi, James (July 13, 2017). "Papal allies attack Bannon's 'apocalyptic' vision". Financial Times. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  3. ^ O'Connell, Gerald (July 14, 2017). "Exclusive interview: Antonio Spadaro on his article about 'The Ecumenism of Hate' in the U.S." America Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  4. ^ Kentish, Ben (July 14, 2017). "Pope Francis allies accuse Donald Trump's team of 'apocalyptic geopolitics' similar to Isis". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  5. ^ Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (July 14, 2017). "Pope Francis allies accuse Trump White House of 'apocalyptic geopolitics'". The Guardian. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  6. ^ Spadaro, Antonio (June 2017). "Evangelical Fundamentalism and Catholic Integralism in the USA: A surprising ecumenism". La Civiltà Cattolica. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  7. ^ Winters, Michael Sean (14 July 2017). "The Civilta article: FINALLY!". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  8. ^ Faggioli, Massimo (18 July 2017). "Why Should We Read Spadaro on 'Catholic Integralism'?". Commonweal Magazine. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  9. ^ Smith, P. J. (2017-07-19). "Spadaro Contra Franciscum". First Things. Retrieved 2026-02-15.
  10. ^ "Archbishop Chaput: Civiltà Cattolica article was an 'exercise in dumbing down'". Catholic Herald. 19 July 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  11. ^ "Archbishop Chaput: Civilta Cattolica got American Christianity wrong". Catholic News Agency. 19 July 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  12. ^ "A papal confidante triggers a furore among American Catholics". The Economist. 19 July 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  13. ^ Lamb, Christopher (2026-02-14). "Steve Bannon courted Epstein in his efforts to 'take down' Pope Francis". CNN. Retrieved 2026-02-15.
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