What does a cardinal think is the weirdest thing about Gen Z?
According to Cardinal Raymond Burke, it’s not “6-7,” “aura,” or any of the other internet slang he admitted he didn’t know. It’s the generation’s relationship with their phones.
“One thing I find very distressing, some people seem to be imprisoned by their telephones,” Burke told Evan Raugust and Braden Johnson — two Gen Z Catholic content creators — in a recent sit-down interview that could be described as a multigenerational discussion on faith and culture.
He added that at times young people can be “distracted” when speaking to others and that he’s even heard of individuals who are in the same room texting each other instead of talking to one another.
However, the 78-year-old cardinal also recognized the great potential the use of technology and media can have for the Church.
Burke pointed out that while there is “a lot of really corrupt material on the internet” he believes that “with the help of God’s grace, we can overcome that.”
“But, if the young people can use all of this social media, and so forth, for good purposes, that really can transform the world,” he added.
The cardinal also pointed to the power of media to communicate the Gospel when discussing Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” which is currently in theaters until Sept. 17 as part of a special rerelease of the film. The cardinal reflected on the film’s portrayal of Christ’s Passion and its ability to inspire the faith in the hearts and minds of many.
“I think it awakened in a lot of people, who maybe didn’t know our Lord or some who had known our Lord and then drifted off — when they viewed this film, it rekindled in them a great spark of faith,” he said.
For Burke, the film offered another example of how media can be used to reach people with the Catholic faith — much like the young Catholic creators sitting across from him.
Johnson and Raugust themselves are using their platforms to evangelize, with Raugust crediting the internet with his conversion to Catholicism in 2023.
Raugust shared that he grew up not knowing anything about Catholicism, with none of his family members being Catholic still to this day.
“I was introduced to Catholicism about six years ago through the internet and because of that I started my conversion process,” he said.
The 21-year-old added, “So my mission is to be able to use the internet to create that experience for millions of other people.”
Today Raugust has over 245,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel and over 30,000 followers on his Instagram.
Johnson — who has over 18,000 followers on Instagram and travels around the world speaking at Catholic conferences — recalled having a major conversion right after he turned 19-years-old.
“There was this day where I'd just been really struggling for a long time, but kind of in my desperation, I end up going to the adoration chapel at my home parish to pray — the first time I remember being super, super open to God,” he shared. “There was such a peace in letting go of all these parts of my life that were really holding me back from living out the faith.”
Burke gave the young men a powerful message in response to their stories and work today: “You both received a great gift of faith, and God gives us the gift of faith to make it a gift to others. So, that’s what you’re doing.”