Mormons set to build new temple in Rome, Italy

The Mormon Church has been on an ambitious temple-building spree for the past 30 years. With 134 currently operating temples and nine under construction, the group recently announced 14 new temples, including one in the Eternal City. This, of course, is something they consider to be a milestone in their expansion, in part because Italy has been a country where Mormon missionaries have not had great success in finding converts.


The two major reasons for their overall lack of proselytism progress there is, in my view, 1) because Italy is more than just ostensibly a Catholic nation and, 2) because Mormonism is so very, very “American” that Italians, as with other Europeans who tend to look down on America and Americans, are even less interested in buying what the Mormon missionaries are selling than they might otherwise be.

In any case, I am disappointed but by no means dispirited by the news of this new temple. It may well be that Catholics in Italy who are still serious about explaining, sharing, and defending the True Faith will see in this development an opportunity to renew their efforts to reach out and evangelize Mormons and others. I certainly do pray for that and hope that the appearance of this new Mormon temple in Rome serves as a much-needed catalyst for Catholics to stand up for the Truth in the face of a Made-in-America theological off-brand.

Dinne s’alcun Latino è tra costoro

che son quinc’ entro, se l’unghia ti basti

etternalmente a cotesto lavoro.  — Dante