Abstract

The issue of religion’s legitimacy in the public debate grown as much so as to speak, today, of a new visibility of religion. This is partly due to the spread of digital media. The article analyzes the coverage of the Catholic Church in the Italian press, approaching the concept of public religion through the perspective of the agenda building theory. The results highlight that the Catholic Church has coverage when it intervenes on controversial issues. Moreover, given that different religious actors take part in the public debate, the representation of the Church is not just a Vatican one.