Leo Tolstoy famously begins his novel Anna Karenina with the simple observation: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” This has become known as the “Anna Karenina principle”. In a word, there is one way of getting it right and many ways of getting it wrong.
This principle was brought to mind by the very high-profile renunciation of the priesthood by the 32-year-old Milanese priest and influencer Alberto Ravagnani. Ordained in 2018, Ravagnani had developed an online presence that made him one of the most followed priests in Italy, with hundreds of thousands of followers – especially among young people. In January he announced that he would be leaving the priesthood, citing struggles with celibacy and the pressures of ministry.
