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Eye of the Tiber – The Catholic Answer to ‘The Onion’

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Via screenshot
Interview with Founder Eye of the Tiber, S.C. Naoum, on his love for the Catholic Church and good satire.

The Eye of the Tiber is a website that gained popularity for delivering satirical news reports, particularly those involving the Catholic Church. Since its inception in 2012, its articles have been the subject of humor but at the same time controversy among the church leaders as well as its members. Eye of the Tiber is also successful in the social media scene and has continuously made people believe that its stories are in fact true. In the site’s About Us page, the writer claims that “Eye of the Tiber has become the leading source for Catholic satire to the astute, and legitimate Catholic news to the obtuse.”

‘Eye of the Tiber’ – The Catholic Answer to ‘The Onion'[/tweetthis]

SC Naoum, a writer from California, is the person behind the satirical website. In a rare interview with the Catholic News Agency, Naoum discussed his inspirations as well as his fears whenever a controversial article is published.

Naoum said that his website is a product of his love for the Church as well as for good satire. He stressed the need to infuse religion and satire since it became a victim of secularization “Unfortunately, anyone who loves the Church can recognize that satire, like most everything else that’s good in this world, like literature, poetry, music, the sciences and so on has been secularized.” He also noted that Eye of the Tiber is a response for the need of a toned down version of the satirical site The Onion.

The writer admitted that he has fears and even nightmares of being excommunicated by the Catholic Church for publishing controversial articles. And based on his audience’s response, subjects revolving around Mass or liturgical services are the most inciting.

The most popular article on the other hand is the one titled “Peter Jackson Announces Plans for 72-Part Movie Series of the Silmarillion.” He further admits that said post is not his work but only a contribution of his priest friend Fr. Andy Younan. Naoum said that in the past, he used to accept article submissions from the website’s fans or readers but eventually have ceased doing so because he finds it hard to reject pieces that are unfit for the site. When asked about his inspiration for his articles, he simply said that it’s the influence of whiskey.

Naoum cited that the goal of his website is to introduce interesting Catholic facts in a humorous or satirical way “letting readers know about random Catholic facts that I find interesting, while poking fun on important things like liturgical dancing and the other 7 Deadly Sins.” In a sarcastic way, he said that the website’s goal is to “piss off every Catholic at least once.” For those who don’t like this explanation, he puts it in another way “to shed light on the absurdity of some of the things going on in the Church while giving people an opportunity to laugh at themselves.”

Even if it’s just a piece of literary art, satire for him has its unique way of delivering the truth “that satire is passive aggressive and at the same time direct. It takes a round about way of delivering direct truths.” Finally, he ended the interview by citing that his favorite liturgical dances include: The Catholic Carlton, Walk Like an Egyptian Coptic, and The Cha Cha Slide, Stand, Sit, Stand, Kneel.

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