When news broke that Bl. Carlo Acutis was on the path to canonization, many were fascinated by the fact that a video gaming teenager could some day be recognized as a saint.
This would appear to “baptize” video games, making them a harmless activity that any faithful Catholic could engage in.
However, Bl. Carlo Acutis had a more complicated relationship with video games.
In his book Carlo Acutis: A Millennial in Paradise, Fr. Will Conquer recounts a negative experience Carlo had. Conquer explains how one day Carlo invited friends over to his house to play video games.
At first, everyone was having a good time, but it soon turned sour.
His friends became agitated and angry, resulting in many tears and hurt feelings. Carlo was shocked by the experience and realized how, “video games controlled his friends.”
The experience had a profound impact on him, and Carlo’s mother told CNS how Carlo “played video games, although usually just one hour a week because he understood that one could be enslaved by video games.”
Carlo was a cautious fan of video games, enjoying them, but knowing first-hand how they can quickly take over a person’s life.
