Mr. Mark Galli, a VIP Evangelical Becomes Catholic

In short, he is a Very Important Person (VIP) among Evangelicals. He joins a parade of high-profile Evangelicals over recent decades who have made similar conversions, e.g., Scott Hahn, Francis Beckwith, Steve Ray, Rosiland Moss.

In December 2019, Mr. Galli flabbergasted many Evangelicals with a pro-impeachment editorial, igniting an uproar among CT readership, who generally supported the president. That was like a flash of lightning. Now, less than a year after his provocative article, Galli let loose another bigger flash of lightening. He resigned in January and recently announced his conversion. His new Catholicism sent a shock wave through the Evangelical community. 

Mr. Galli put himself in the spotlight. Some Evangelicals and Catholics will be intensely curious to learn what those lightning bolts were all about and how he came to make this dramatic life change in his late 60’s. Regardless of the fascinating twists and turns to his destination, what is important now is the ten-thousand-foot view of it. Coupled with other events, I and other Catholics can take comfort in Galli’s conversion as a sign of optimism.

In Context With Other Positive Developments

Ten centuries of Church separation is expected to be remedied soon.  The Reunion of the Russian Orthodox Church with Rome has been described as “imminent”. The very recent Abraham Accords Peace Agreement between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain (and 9 more possible Arab joiners) is a major geopolitical historical “miracle” and a “sign of hope”. There have been reports of thousands, perhaps millions of Mideast converts to Christianity in recent times through private dreams and visions of Jesus.

Major advancements have been made in revealing the true evil of abortion. It had become a mountain with nearly unshakable cultural and political support and money-making power. Even a mountain erodes from weathering and like the fight to end slavery, abortion’s days are numbered. At this writing, a Supreme Court vacancy heats up the conflict about whether the Court might overrule its 1974 abortion ruling. A number of Protestant churches have split and continue to do so over the consecration of active homosexual priests, the ordination of women, and the adoption of same-sex marriages.

Many of the disheartened have entered the Catholic church and these splits continue to drive Evangelicals to Catholicism. We are nearing the possible renewal of the Vatican’s highly controversial agreement with the Chinese about governing Catholic practices. Many warn of a fiasco but the Vatican’s presumed long game strategy might also work out to the Church possessing a massive organization in place when and if a détente occurs.

The watch The World Over with Steven Mosher with Raymond Arroyo

Conversion for an Often-Cited Reason

S]truggles over homosexuality beginning in 2003 when the Episcopal Church ordained its first openly gay bishop, and later, his quest as editor-in-chief of Christianity Today to hold an increasingly fractious evangelical world together, took a toll.  . . . If Galli had one gnawing frustration with Protestant Christianity, it was the ceaseless splintering and divisions. He tried to work toward unity. It left him exhausted (Shimron, Yonat, “Mark Galli, former Christianity Today editor and Trump critic, to be confirmed a Catholic”, Religion News Service, Sept. 10, 2020).

Some Unfavorable Responses

We should rejoice in their insults and false statements. It is not so much because we’ll have our reward in heaven for being persecuted in the name of Jesus. (Matthew 5:11). Rather, we should be glad because every one of those slights and besmirches are opportunities to educate and persuade Evangelicals about the full Catholic faith, history, and theology. Galli’s conversion can function as a tremendous catalyst for the countless water cooler and over-the-back-fence conversations and exchanges of knowledge and reasoning.

Not a High Five Event