Catholic News Agency (CNA) reports on November 23, 2025, that the Theo prayer app aims to gather one million children for an Advent campaign featuring an animated donkey named Theodore – purportedly descended from the Bethlehem donkey – alongside “Fr.” Ambrose Criste and actor David Henrie. The 25-day program includes Luke’s Gospel readings, saint stories, and parent-child activities under CEO Francisco Cornejo’s direction, claiming to help families “discover the true meaning of the season” through digital engagement.
Sacred Narrative Reduced to Technological Spectacle
The app’s central device – an animated donkey claiming hereditary ties to sacred history – constitutes blasphemous trivialization of the Incarnation narrative. This approach substitutes supernatural wonder with technological novelty, violating Pius XI’s condemnation of those who “remove Jesus Christ and His most holy law from their customs” (Quas Primas, 1925). By transforming the solemn anticipation of Christ’s birth into entertainment, the app inverts the via purgativa necessary for proper Advent preparation – namely, penance and mortification as mandated by the Church’s ancient disciplines.
Omission of Essential Catholic Doctrine
Nowhere does the campaign mention:
The necessity of sacramental confession to prepare souls for Christ’s coming, the Eucharistic fast, or the eschatological dimension of Advent encompassing Christ’s Second Coming and Final Judgment.
This silence exposes the program’s naturalistic foundation, prioritizing emotional engagement over gratia actualis (actual grace) needed for salvation. Pius IX’s Syllabus of Errors explicitly condemns the notion that “The Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church” (Error 55) – a principle violated by relegating spiritual formation to digital platforms rather than parish sacramental life.
Theological Flaws in Program Design
Cornejo’s claim that content is “packed in a way that’s accessible” for children constitutes pedagogical modernism condemned by St. Pius X: “There is no part of Catholic truth which… can be disowned or passed over in silence without detriment to faith” (Lamentabili Sane, 1907). The app’s structure reveals three fundamental errors:
1. Democratization of interpretation: Parent-child “discussion points” replace catechism-based instruction, implying doctrinal truths are negotiable.
2. Sacramental displacement: Promoting digital “prayer” while omitting mention of Eucharistic adoration or rosary recitation before the Blessed Sacrament.
3. False ecumenism: Henrie’s involvement – known for interreligious projects – aligns with the conciliar sect’s “cult of man” condemned by Archbishop Lefebvre.
Dubious Authorities and Invalid Sacraments
The participation of “Fr.” Ambrose Criste – ordained in post-conciliar rites – raises grave concerns given Leo XIII’s declaration that “ordinations performed according to the Anglican rite are utterly invalid” (Apostolicae Curae). When the app encourages families to “discover the true meaning” through invalidly ordained ministers, it facilitates communicatio in sacris with the conciliar sect. As Pius XII taught, “The domestic Church must be nourished by the true Church’s sacraments” (Mediator Dei), not digital simulations overseen by questionable clergy.
Conclusion: Technological Pietism vs. True Preparation
This campaign exemplifies the conciliar sect’s abandonment of lex orandi, lex credendi (the law of prayer is the law of belief). By replacing Advent’s fasting disciplines with animated entertainment, the program fulfills Pius X’s warning about modernists who “reduce to a minimum the supernatural element” (Pascendi Dominici Gregis). Authentic Catholic families must reject such technological pietism and return to the disciplina arcani – the Church’s time-tested method of gradually initiating children into sacred mysteries through sacramental participation and doctrinal clarity.
Source:
Kids Catholic prayer app aims to bring 1 million children together for Advent campaign (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 23.11.2025