Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga turned the world’s biggest stage into a celebration of faith, family and the diversity of American Catholicism — outshining a feeble MAGA counter-program in the process.
The contrast between the exuberant, loud, tsunami of love, pure joy, and real faith gushing from Bad Bunny's visual and aural testament to true America and the frigid, sterile, and truly soulless desert of the Christian Nationalists and their tight-lipped hatred of everything "different" from their evangelical, frozen white selves could not have been more cataclysmic.
I cannot imagine ever being--or ever wanting to be--aligned with MAGA.
Facts are stubborn things. Check them before you destroy an innocent person's reputation. RM was never charged with that crime. The judge dropped the charges and the restraining order when the accused admitted to lying.
I love all of this so much. I just really wish the Church would make it a priority to teach that Mary Magdalene was actually not a prostitute (not that Jesus would love her any less) but the Church really needs to focus on the role of women in the Church beyond what is currently available to them.
They do teach this. I take weekly adult education classes at my parish,and this fact about Saint Mary of Magdela is clear in teaching and *scripture.
Jesus healed Mary Magdalene by driving out "seven demons". This spiritual affliction, which represents a state of complete torment or severe illness, was cured by Jesus, leading her to become a devoted follower and witness to the Resurrection.
That’s great they taught it in your classes but when you have Catholics like Lady Gaga referencing her as a prostitute it stays in public knowledge as she was a prostitute. Growing up in the church, Catholic schools and a religious home that was what I was taught until I began to study myself. My mother, who considers herself extremely religious, still knows nothing about Mary Magdalene and most don’t even though she was the first to see Jesus resurrected.
I’m not condemning anyone or questioning someone’s Catholic identity. I’m talking about how cultural narratives about Mary Magdalene have shaped how many of us were formed, and why I think emphasizing her actual role as first witness to the Resurrection really matters for how we understand women in the Church.
***The Misconception: In A.D. 591, Pope Gregory I combined the identities of Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, and the anonymous "sinful woman" in Luke 7, creating a 1,500-year-old misconception that she was a prostitute.
It's scriptural. I have nothing to do,with a devoted Catholic such as Lady Gaga's failure in education or understanding, to make a mistake while referencing scripture. Her mistake is simply a mistake. I make many mistakes when referencing scripture even though I have degree in Religion from an Ivy college. She's in good company with the rest of us fallible humans. It's not a sin.
I’m not saying the Church’s official teaching today claims she was a prostitute. I’m talking about the cultural formation many of us actually received. For generations, preaching, art, and catechesis presented Mary Magdalene as a sexual sinner, and that narrative shaped how women and holiness were framed.
What I’m longing for is not just factual clarification but a stronger emphasis on her real role: first witness to the Resurrection and a central disciple. That has huge implications for how we understand women’s spiritual authority in the Church.
We understand women's spiritual authority according to what's written in the scriptures,by the teaching of the ancient , Church Fathers,Saints and, most importantly, by the Dogmas and the Doctrins of the Catholic Church- the Magisterium.
I don’t think this is an issue of me not understanding, so there’s no need to “try again.” I’m not disputing Scripture, doctrine, or the Church’s authority to teach. I’m speaking about how theology is actually lived, taught, preached, and absorbed in real communities over time. That’s a different layer of the conversation.
There can be a difference between official clarification and the cultural formation many people receive. That difference matters, because it shapes how people understand holiness, authority, and especially the role of women. Naming that gap isn’t rejecting Church authority — it’s acknowledging how narratives and emphasis influence spiritual imagination.
The Church itself recognizes that understanding develops in history and that the Spirit works in individual hearts, conscience, and lived experience. So there is always a dynamic relationship between institutional articulation and lived encounter with truth.
When we stay only at the level of correcting a historical detail or restating where authority comes from, we miss the pastoral and cultural dimension of how faith is actually formed. That’s the piece I’m speaking to.
Let me try again - **The reputation stems from a 591 C.E. sermon by Pope Gregory I, which falsely conflated her with an unnamed sinful woman. In reality, she was a prominent disciple and the first witness to the resurrection.
My husband joined for a year but didn’t know about the offer for the James Martin book. He was not asked for his address. Is the book still available until the 11th?
The contrast between the exuberant, loud, tsunami of love, pure joy, and real faith gushing from Bad Bunny's visual and aural testament to true America and the frigid, sterile, and truly soulless desert of the Christian Nationalists and their tight-lipped hatred of everything "different" from their evangelical, frozen white selves could not have been more cataclysmic.
I cannot imagine ever being--or ever wanting to be--aligned with MAGA.
Well said. They sure have put hatred, Nationalism, and pdfiles on a pedestal.
I am
Not sure if on a pedestal but definitely in a different “other” place which has no relation to god
that's why i found the fact that BB also featured a pedo to be really upsetting
https://open.substack.com/pub/leftiejane/p/bad-bunnys-halftime-show-was-empty?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Facts are stubborn things. Check them before you destroy an innocent person's reputation. RM was never charged with that crime. The judge dropped the charges and the restraining order when the accused admitted to lying.
Correct, RM was never charged, however, the case was dropped due to a mutual agreement, not because justice was served
Your opinion, not the courts opinion.
Tell that to the victim
I’m almost afraid to ask because I don't want to be part of possibly defaming another person's reputation even by inference.
Once a Catholic, always a Catholic. The world is a church. 🐇 🐰
Well said,DEE.
I love all of this so much. I just really wish the Church would make it a priority to teach that Mary Magdalene was actually not a prostitute (not that Jesus would love her any less) but the Church really needs to focus on the role of women in the Church beyond what is currently available to them.
They do teach this. I take weekly adult education classes at my parish,and this fact about Saint Mary of Magdela is clear in teaching and *scripture.
Jesus healed Mary Magdalene by driving out "seven demons". This spiritual affliction, which represents a state of complete torment or severe illness, was cured by Jesus, leading her to become a devoted follower and witness to the Resurrection.
That’s great they taught it in your classes but when you have Catholics like Lady Gaga referencing her as a prostitute it stays in public knowledge as she was a prostitute. Growing up in the church, Catholic schools and a religious home that was what I was taught until I began to study myself. My mother, who considers herself extremely religious, still knows nothing about Mary Magdalene and most don’t even though she was the first to see Jesus resurrected.
“Catholicc's like Lady Gaga”? All Catholics baptized by a priest using the Trinitarian Formula, belong to -THE SAME BODY OF CHRIST.
I’m not condemning anyone or questioning someone’s Catholic identity. I’m talking about how cultural narratives about Mary Magdalene have shaped how many of us were formed, and why I think emphasizing her actual role as first witness to the Resurrection really matters for how we understand women in the Church.
***The Misconception: In A.D. 591, Pope Gregory I combined the identities of Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, and the anonymous "sinful woman" in Luke 7, creating a 1,500-year-old misconception that she was a prostitute.
It's scriptural. I have nothing to do,with a devoted Catholic such as Lady Gaga's failure in education or understanding, to make a mistake while referencing scripture. Her mistake is simply a mistake. I make many mistakes when referencing scripture even though I have degree in Religion from an Ivy college. She's in good company with the rest of us fallible humans. It's not a sin.
I’m not saying the Church’s official teaching today claims she was a prostitute. I’m talking about the cultural formation many of us actually received. For generations, preaching, art, and catechesis presented Mary Magdalene as a sexual sinner, and that narrative shaped how women and holiness were framed.
What I’m longing for is not just factual clarification but a stronger emphasis on her real role: first witness to the Resurrection and a central disciple. That has huge implications for how we understand women’s spiritual authority in the Church.
We understand women's spiritual authority according to what's written in the scriptures,by the teaching of the ancient , Church Fathers,Saints and, most importantly, by the Dogmas and the Doctrins of the Catholic Church- the Magisterium.
I don’t think this is an issue of me not understanding, so there’s no need to “try again.” I’m not disputing Scripture, doctrine, or the Church’s authority to teach. I’m speaking about how theology is actually lived, taught, preached, and absorbed in real communities over time. That’s a different layer of the conversation.
There can be a difference between official clarification and the cultural formation many people receive. That difference matters, because it shapes how people understand holiness, authority, and especially the role of women. Naming that gap isn’t rejecting Church authority — it’s acknowledging how narratives and emphasis influence spiritual imagination.
The Church itself recognizes that understanding develops in history and that the Spirit works in individual hearts, conscience, and lived experience. So there is always a dynamic relationship between institutional articulation and lived encounter with truth.
When we stay only at the level of correcting a historical detail or restating where authority comes from, we miss the pastoral and cultural dimension of how faith is actually formed. That’s the piece I’m speaking to.
Let me try again - **The reputation stems from a 591 C.E. sermon by Pope Gregory I, which falsely conflated her with an unnamed sinful woman. In reality, she was a prominent disciple and the first witness to the resurrection.
Yes I understand this very well. Not everyone does… which was the point of my comment.
Amen!
This was an analysis I did not expect but I knew there was something special about his performance. Thank you
That was so beautifully written. Thank you for your wonderful words. May peace reign over fear.
What an amazing article. As a Roman Catholic, I think that it's very uplifting.
My husband joined for a year but didn’t know about the offer for the James Martin book. He was not asked for his address. Is the book still available until the 11th?
HEll no.
como hispano católico debo decir que este artículo miente. Bad Bunny es todo menos católico; o si lo es, es «católico» a su manera.