Evangelizing the culture is Father Robert Barron’s goal. A television series on the Catholic faith, which debuts tonight on PBS, might just go a long way in helping to achieve that goal.
Father Barron is a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the founder of Word on Fire Ministry, a media apostolate. He has authored 10 books and also serves as the Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois.
He recently produced the 10-part PBS series Catholicism, which will make its debut tonight in some parts of the country. (Check your local listings for more information.)
He hopes the series will reach both fallen-away Catholics, to remind them of the beauty and the truth of Catholicism, and restoring respect for a Church that is still recovering from the sexual abuse scandal and battling secularism.
“A handful of people did terrible things,” he admitted in a recent interview with Tim Drake, Register senior writer and host of Register Radio, “but we have 2,000 years of beauty, art, architecture, liturgy and the saints.”
Where did you grow up? Tell me about your family.
Between the ages of 3 and 8, I grew up outside Detroit, but then we moved back [to Chicago]. I came of age in the suburbs of Chicago. My father was a sales executive for a food distributor and my mother was a housewife. I’ve got an older brother who is the publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times and a younger sister who works as a teacher’s assistant. Both live in Chicago. I’m the well-adjusted middle child.
Do you have a favorite childhood Catholic memory?
I grew up Catholic in the late 1960s and early 1970s — the “banners and balloons” period. In 1974, while a freshman in a Dominican high school outside Chicago, the teacher laid out one of the arguments for God’s existence from St. Thomas Aquinas. I wasn’t particularly interested in things religious, but this absolutely lit a fire for me. I began checking books out of the library to try to figure out this kind of theology.
That was a decisive moment in my life. It led me on a path to try to understand the things of God. Most of my life I’ve been a teacher and writer.
Did that lead to your vocation to the priesthood?
That was the beginning. It led me to a lot of books and thinking. I read my way to the priesthood. I was coming of age in a chaotic time in the Church. It wasn’t my parish that did it, but the books I was discovering and reading.
The mind affected the heart, and the conviction grew that I wanted to serve God and speak of God and the things of God. It deepened and developed into a life commitment to God. I was ordained in 1986 for the Archdiocese of Chicago.
How did you first come up with the idea for “The Catholicism Project”?
That goes back about four or five years ago. I told the Word on Fire board that I wanted to do something like Kenneth Clark’s Civilization, where he showed the beauty of civilization as he talked about it. I wanted to do the same for the Church by going to Europe, the Holy Land, Calcutta, Africa, Notre Dame Cathedral and elsewhere.
One of the board members suggested that I should drop everything else I was doing and do that. The board agreed and approached the cardinal about it. Cardinal Francis George, who had invited me to do the evangelizing-the-culture work, said that whatever he could do to make it happen he would do.
So, with the board and the cardinal behind me, we started raising money locally. It came through a lot of blood, sweat and tears, begging and events. Eventually, we obtained enough to do one trip. The cost was about $250,000 per episode for traveling, housing, filming and editing. We went to the Holy Land first.
I always had a 10-part series in mind. We filmed and continued begging, and once we had the money, we’d take our next trip. In the middle of the project, the economy collapsed, and many of our donors backed out. We continued praying, especially to the Little Flower [St. Thérèse of Lisieux], our patroness, and, in the end, we took 12 trips to 16 different countries and eventually got it done.
What was the high point in the filming?
For me, it was the Holy Land. It was the first time I had ever been there. Being in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was overwhelming. Out of reverence and the religious excitement of being there, I knelt down. Our cameraman filmed that and used it in the series.
Another highlight was visiting Uganda. I teach a number of African students and asked them where I should go to see Catholicism in Africa. All of them said I should go to Namugongo, Uganda. There, on June 3, they have a massive liturgy and procession for the martyr Charles Lwanga and companions on the site where he was burned at the stake.
To see 500,000 African Catholics come with this giant procession of priests and bishops was overwhelming. In the video, I use the line about the “blood of the martyrs being the seed of Christianity,” and the camera pans back to show this massive gathering. That was an emotional highlight for me.
Was there a low point?
The difficulty of some of the trips and moving every day to a new hotel. The low point was also a high point. We were at Lough Derg in Ireland. It was St. Patrick’s purgatory in the Middle Ages. There’s a rocky island in the middle of this large lake. It’s a pilgrimage site where people come for weekend retreats. When they arrive, they remove their shoes, they stay awake, and do other penitential exercises.
When we arrived, it was raining, and here were these barefooted penitents making their way around the island and its beds of stone. It was a dreadful, dismal day, but ended up being perfect for our filming purposes.
How large was your team?
When we traveled, about eight or nine people would come. We would hire people on the ground for light and sound. We had Mike Leonard of The Today Show. His son Matt was the director and did the editing. Nanette, who also worked with The Today Show, was our “fixer.” On one of our trips, she came just after producing the McCain-Obama debate to make all of the arrangements for us in Rome.
We had a great cameraman. He would film me doing our stand-ups first, and then he would wander around and get all these great shots of local people.
How were you able to gather so many folks from The Today Show?
Mike Leonard was a parishioner at Sacred Heart Parish on the north side of Chicago, where I helped out for nine years. I knew of his work, and we began to talk about professional possibilities. He runs a company called Picture Show, and that’s who we worked with for the past three years.
What was the total budget for the series?
It was $3 million — a shoestring budget. We tried to keep it to a small crew. We never got a penny from the Church. All of the money was raised through private donations.
It really was a miracle of a grassroots movement. Catholic laypeople thought this was a good project and supported it.
How long did the filming take for the series?
We began in June 2008, and our last filming trip was in 2010, so it took a little over two years to film.
How many countries did you visit?
We visited about 50 locations in 16 countries. I’m accustomed to giving a talk on a particular topic, but this was like doing a complicated movie.
We had all of the scripts with us all the time and were filming for various episodes at particular locations. Everything — the lighting, camera, sound — had to be carefully crafted. I remember once, while we were filming in Rome, the director yelled, “Cut.” I wondered what had happened. As it turned out, a cloud had passed in front of the sun, and we had lost our light. By the time the stupid little cloud had passed, it was the lunch hour. We were filming in the Vatican gardens, and you could hear all the car noise going by.
Is there anything that you learned about the Church from doing the project that you didn’t know before you started working on it?
I studied for my doctorate in Paris, and I taught in Rome, so my background is more Western. Going to Calcutta for the first time and Guadalupe and Uganda were all great eye-opening opportunities.
None of us had been to the Holy Land before, so when we arrived in Jerusalem, it was this completely different culture. It was great to see the non-Eurocentric side of the Church. I found it very uplifting.
What distinguishes the non-Western side of the Church?
The energy, the color, the commitment. We went to all these great places throughout Europe, and our cameraman, who was Lutheran, would say, “Another empty church.” The churches in Europe are beautiful, but they are empty of people.
Suddenly, there you are in Africa or Poland, and the churches are full of people attending Mass and going to confession. We sent film crews to Brazil and the Philippines, and the churches were jammed with people there as well. There’s a vibrancy and a liveliness in these places.
What do you hope to accomplish with the series?
I think of it as concentric circles. I’m interested in getting fallen-away Catholics — the second-largest religious group in America — to see it and be reminded of the beauty and the truth of Catholicism. I’m also interested in educating the Church.
People can use the series and study program in RCIA programs, adult formation, retreats. And I’m interested in the wider culture. We’re really thrilled that it will be on PBS to get to the wider culture.
Secularism is just wrecking people’s souls and telling them that all of their happiness and joy is to be found in this world. I want the series to reflect the transcendence of life and to speak of a higher reality.
I’m ambitious. I want the series to reach inside and outside the Church. When the cardinal gave me this mission to do Internet outreach, I envisioned this as a kind of crown jewel.
Some have described you as a kind of modern Fulton Sheen. Perhaps more than any priest, you have really taken the Second Vatican Council’s call in Inter Mirifica to heart, utilizing every means of communication to spread the truth of the Gospel. Why is the Church overall so slow to adapt to new-media technologies?
Fulton Sheen was certainly a pioneer, but the Church didn’t follow up. We think institutionally. My generation was the last one that came to the [Catholic] institutions (schools) and was evangelized there by priests and nuns. People aren’t coming to our institutions in the same way. We have to go get them and be proactive. We have media now that Fulton Sheen would have died for.
The explosion in the last 10 years is incredible — that I can produce a YouTube video, put it up, and it’s there 24/7. It was so edifying to be at World Youth Day in Madrid. We were flooded with young people who had seen our YouTube videos. They’re a great way to communicate. I also hear from atheists and secularists. How else would we be able to reach someone like that? I savor the opportunity to reach out to radically unchurched people. That’s what the new media has given us.
In the past few years, the level of hostility directed at the Church has really intensified. Your project was, in some ways, a response to that, wasn’t it?
The sexual-abuse scandal was the worst period in the history of the American Catholic Church. What do we do? We respond institutionally, certainly, as we did with the Dallas Charter. But secondly, and most importantly, we as a Church need to come back to the basics of evangelism.
The Church needs to reassert what it’s about. That’s what Sts. Dominic, Benedict and Ignatius did. They responded to crisis by talking about what we are about — Jesus Christ and caring for the poor.
I saw the project under this rubric and felt we should go forward at this time. A year ago I was on a local Chicago news program and the opening question was: “You represent the religion that has the worst public relations in the world.” I said, “Yes, we have this problem, but I refuse to let 2,000 years of Catholicism be reduced to the sexual-abuse scandal. A handful of people did terrible things, but we have 2,000 years of beauty, art, architecture, liturgy and the saints. We have St. Thomas Aquinas, [Blessed] Mother Teresa, the Notre Dame Cathedral. I don’t want that reduced to the sexual-abuse scandal.” I want our story told, and that’s a reason I did this.
In March 2010, you questioned PBS’ decision to not air religious programming and used examples to demonstrate that they exclude one type of evangelization but allow another type. Now it turns out that PBS has agreed to air your series on more than 80 public-television stations this fall. How did that come about?
We approached WTTW over a year ago in Chicago with the documentary. I was aware that I had done this piece on YouTube, and I stand by it. I wasn’t expecting much from PBS, but they called us down, and we met with their people. To my infinite delight and surprise, they said they thought it was well done, that it was visually compelling, that it would be interesting to non-Catholics and any religious seekers, and that they loved it. We went to lunch afterwards and wondered, How did that happen?
They watched all 10 episodes and chose four — the first episode on Jesus, the episode on the mystery of God, the episode on Mary, and the one on Peter and Paul and the missionary outreach of the Church. It will begin airing during prime time in Chicago on Oct. 13 and will air in successive three Thursday evenings. PBS Chicago marketed around the country, and they’ll be airing it on just over 80 stations.
The other episodes we sent to EWTN, and they’ll be playing them starting in the beginning of November. We’re thrilled.
And the series is accompanied by a companion book and a study guide?
Yes, there’s a study guide and a book. The book is based on the script. It has photos and artwork from the series. That’s being published by Image/Doubleday.
The study guide was written by Carl Olson. He took the scripts and provided a summary, along with elaboration and connections to the Bible, the Catechism, artwork and the Church Fathers.
“The Catholicism Project” is an ambitious and greatly anticipated project. Congratulations!
It was a dream that slowly became a reality. It was the combination of so many good things coming together. The laypeople came together during a time when the institutional Church was in trouble. They stepped up, they funded it, and they made it happen. I find that edifying and encouraging.
Tim Drake is the Register’s senior writer.
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I have watched this series once and will watch it again. I love how this guy explains Catholic doctrines. However there is one phrase that Fr Barron uses that I think is very unfortunate. He says that the sexual abuse scandals have been committed by a “handful of people”. While I am not a victim I think that if I was, I would be deeply angered by these words as they seem dismissive and inaccurate. I am from a diocese in Australia, Maitland/Newcastle, where the magnitude of sexual abuse and its fallout is mind-blowing. Now if we were the only place in the world where abuse happened than, yes, it may have been committed by a “handful of people”. But that is not the case. It’s a worldwide phenomenon and presumably has happened down the ages. So I think Fr Barron’s phrasing, normally brilliant, is in this case injudicious.
I would like you to know, that I am a Catholic volunteer at a Texas State prison in Abilene Texas. Most of the men do not have their full set of sacraments and don’t know very much about the Church. Most of them only have an 8th grade or less educatiobal level. I used to use the catechism from the USCCB; but I wasn’t a very effective teacher, So I started to look for something in the line of a DVD and there was Fr. Barron’s production. They love it. I hope that this fulfills some FR. Barron’s goal in filming this.
Joseph Sutch
Abilene TX
I have been a Lutheran Christian all my life, but at the age of 71 I am now on the 5th of May 2013 to become a Roman Catholic. In my church we run the Catholicism Series, and I am delighted and deeply touched. Thank you, Father Barron, for the challenge in the films.
Father Barron has tapped into something awsome no wonder athiests and religious alike want to be a part of his ministry it is the bsst thing that could happen at this time when the world needs an advocate such as he is. I can only hope that he can continue to spread the word and set the world on fire and as long as everyone is talking I guess a spark has ignited somewhere.
Fr Barron
This is wonderful project. God Bless you for being so inspired to pursue it and bring this as a gift to many. I really enjoyed it. May be you can produce even more or team up with various countries to do more. However you need financing
I wish more groups or in Rome they would finance your team, work & more expanding upon it it even further and deeper it needs to be shared with everyone even Non Catholics+Evangelical Christians May it make a difference in their lives and hearts of Catholicism
It would be great to have it translated to other languages and sent around the world Not only for Catholics who are at a distance but even those heavily involved in the Catholic Church
They will so much appreciate your work
It needs to be sent to the parishes in every country Switz & Poland, France. Just keep on going the whole world on every continent do not miss a country
Make it with language translations for many to see
The Church’s story invites every person in every generation to become a searcher and to discover her brilliance. Fr. Barron’s Catholicism series has done a yoeman job in setting that story in a vivid context. His film reviews are often sage, although his devotion to some secular saints (eg. Bob Dylan) may raise more questions.
There is no reason to hold his birthday against him. But it is important to note that an appreciation for Catholic art and culture has always had a rootedness among the faithful. Carlton J.H. Hayes, at Columbia U. in the first part of the 20th century was advancing the need to focus on European culture. In Britain, Christopher Dawson was calling for a broadening of Catholic higher education to include access not simply to metaphysics and theology but to art and history, as well. This same approach was reflected in the writings of E.I. Watkin, also in Britain. Catholic aestheticians, Etienne Gilson and Jacques Maritain made huge advances in understanding the meaning of art and faith. The fact is that whenever we imagine that we are doing something brand new, we find our ancestors as antecedents.
In one of the episodes, Fr. Barron comments that Catholic Tradition is not like passing a baton from one runner to the next, but more like a river that picks up various items with it as it travels along through time. What a brilliant analogy of how the Church’s understanding of Salvation has changed, particularily of who’s saved and does one have to be a member of the Church to be saved. Is there no salavtion outside of the Catholic faith and is there anyone in Hell? The answer is found in Catholic tradition and is also echoed in St. Faustina’s prayer given to her by Jesus; “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole World”. Yes, it is only through His Cross and resurection that any of us will be saved. Viva Jesu!
Isaw on episode on EWTN and had to have the video. I am on a fixed income but I am also proud to say I am from chicago because of the Word on Fire. I was given a financial gift for Christmas and the video happned to be on sale. God sent. I loved it so well I kept challenging my Diocese in Central Indiana, my former in Northern Indiana Diocese and my parish to get interested in it. for whatever reason it took them several months but once the message took I started hearing about it at many churches for Lent. That is exciitng. It’s great to see the s pirit alive. Keep this idea moving. People are ready for this and need more.
I converted to Catholism from a Protestant church in 1988 after three years in RCIA. MY original intent was to learn ... Not to convert.
God had gotten “into my boat”.
My husband, a cradle Catholic, and I have a beautiful relationship because Jesus is central to our lives. But, being human, we have let the secular world take precedence too often ... Scattering us. On Christmas Day 2011, we began revitalizing our Catholic faith. A friend and Sister recommended Fr. Barron’s book.
The enhanced ebook “Catholism” was so awesome and inspiring that we purchased the DVD series and have watched the series more than twice. We will be doing so regularly.
Like the Catholic Mass, this series centers on God’s love and does not “put down” our brothers and sisters of different beliefs. We are all children of God, even if we are not aware.
We are extremely grateful to Fr. Barron, and those that are supporting his efforts, for their evangelization.
The world is desperately in need of the “true God” and Fr. Barron is working to help everyone know His Love.
Bless you for your courage in answering God’s call.
There are many Catholics (converts as well) who are working with you utilizing the current media in this positive and productive manner.
Thank you !
At our parish church we are watching your series on “Catholicism”.
A question came up from a parishioner, about the knowlege Jesus had of His
suffering and dying on the cross. What age? He is the Son of the Father, and was sent as our Savior. I would think that He, in the human form was
still the living God.
I have said this in other forums, in one form or another. I am a Catholic “leftist” in the tradition of Dorothy Day and Cesar Chavez (Not to be confused with Hugo Chavez). However, I am also a strict Catholic. That is a rare thing, just as rare as “compassionate open minded conservative”. The rarity of both within the Catholic Church is a far graver scandal than sexual abuse by priests and religious. Father Barron’s work has the potential to inspire a movement that would go a long ways towards a revival of both types of Catholics and something more truthful in between. Thanks again Fr. Barron for a wonderful job!!! At the very least, it makes those of us who try to both follow Church teaching in all things and by extension, care for the poor, feel that we are not alone!
The Lutheran Church then the Episcopal Church and two very big disappointments. Eighteen years ago I began going to the Catholic Church with my wife, a cradle Catholic. No one forced my hand but the past made it very hard to commit. I knew better than to put God or the Church “on trial” but I decided to read, study, pray, listen to the Church and other independent sources. Over time, I came to the conclusion that I liked what I saw but lacked a key element and moment to put it all together. Saw Catholicism on the Internet. The previews and the reviews looked good. I purchased the DVD set and then proceeded to watch the entire series twice. I enjoyed every second of Catholicism. My head and heart resonated together, every episode had me in tears. FINALLY, someone stepped up and put it all together. For Catholic, Protestant, Atheist, Catholics “on vacation,” Father Barron lays it all out. He criticizes no one but he sounds no retreat either. This series is a masterpiece. Thank you Father Barron, I’m in RCIA, I finally found my church and while the past has been a struggle, this journey is almost over, but as it has been aptly said many times, the greatest journey is the one that leads you home.
Hi, I have a friend who watched this she said it was wonderful. I did not have a chance to watch it, please tell me it will be on again. Please send a message to my e-mail about another broadcast on EWTN and I will be sure to watch. Thank you very much (I’ll be waiting for an update for another showing.)
I’ve only viewed one of the episodes, and found it to be so well produced that I will be buying the series. The works of religious art, the architecture of the cathedrals, monasteries, and churches, the music, are a great backdrop to Fr. Barron’s clear message. If the other sections are as extraordinary as the one I watched, I’ll want to review them time and time again… and share them with Christian friends and family, as well as good persons, very close to my heart, who have fallen away. During this time of Thanksgiving, I want to thank you, Fr. Barron, for the perspective, perseverance, persistence, and courage to accomplish this work. I also thank all those individuals who financed this venture. Forward, always forward. There’s more to do. I’m proud of all of y’all.
Simply put this is a fantastically great program for any Christian!
read all the comment and,as usuall, read the devisions betweene Catholic minds not agreeing on anything and only worried if this magnific try by a gifted pries to evangelize is corrent and actually true in every way.
Why not only look at the good of things and not be so critical?
why has the church in Rome not seemingly be very helprul and the local churches have not contributed with all the necessary money to perhaps have some say in the project if they thought it needed correction in some aspects?
Jesus was never believed by his rabbis, still the church was established without them, and so will our church at present too.
marie Jalsevac
Thank you so much Father Barron you deserve the biggest medal for perserverance.
I have not yet seen your film but I am so thrilled that God has answered my prayers. I watch other protestants step forward on TV and express their views. I am reminded of a comment I made at a Catechist Workshop when I questioned my Diocese why does the Catholic Church not take advantage of the modern ways to communicate with the people on this planet: such as TV and the Internet. The Mormons get on TV and talk about Family Relationships and make Mormonism look inviting. I asked why can’t the Catholic Church do the same thing. What are we waiting for? We are asked to Evangelize from the beginning; why do we need other churches to keep taking our members away from us though fellowship? Why can’t we reach back to them? When we are on TV we get negative press for the Priests who go astray or we are interviewed at 2 or 3 am. Yes we have EWTN but most Non Catholics or Fallen away Catholics do not purposely turn to that channel. Or if they don’t have cable they can’t find us. Yet if it were suddenly presented on a regular TV station then people might find it interesting to view it when it appears in front of them no matter what hour. Needless to say I was told that I was too ambitious. They spoke of the cost of such a project. I wanted to say if it truly honored God it would not matter. Yet, I’m already seen as an unusual Catholic because of my age 65 and my Spirituality is different than my new Diocese. Funny I was born in Chicago and years ago I felt I was treated as a number and most did not recognize me as Caroline the Catholic. We were taught to be silent and pray. I for one use to open my doors to Jehovah Witnesses and often they left questiong why they had come to my home. My neighbors in La Porte, In. can account for that. Often they feared that these people might come to their doors. I would say don’t worry about it I told them the whole block was Catholic. At that time I had just moved and worked in the Gary Diocese. this Diocese had the same Bishop for 50 years. Many Religious throughout the US thought we were behind the times. Once I was hugged at a Summer Session at Retreats International when they heard I was from the Gary Diocese and they said you poor thing. Yet today I am so proud to say I was a Catholic from Chicago and I was able to go back and see the progress in my former Gary Diocese ( The Passion of Christ’s Shrine in St. John, In. and the new Churches being built there) the Faith is finally blooming there. It so wonderful to witness God’s work . I can’t wait for the deeper roots to begin showing life in my new Lafayette Diocese. It is not a matter of me wanting these people to be like me but rather I want to see and feel them waking up to their own Faith in God and realizing there are no boundaries that these people place between themselves and God. I love that you trust and know that God is ready to talk to His people no matter what it takes. I know my Diocese wants to do God’s will but they seem to be afraid to show God’s Love. Structural Prayers are nice. Thomas Merton, Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, John of the Cross, Catherine of Siena are all wonderful Doctors of the Church and pray very well. But I believe even they know we are all not meant to be so rigid in our Catholic Life. It is time that Catholics can see that people don’t have to be scholars to show their faith. My former Bishop use to say it is not what you know it is what you Show and as I grow older I firmly believe that. Peace/Shalom
@Quaerens: You asked:
2. What about his theology comes from the modernist school?
3. Have you even watched the series to see if this ‘leftist, heretical’ theology seeps into the films?
I have watched the entire series twice. I do think its a great thing what Fr. Barron is doing and has done.
However, I can specifically question Fr. Barron’s wording in several places in “Catholicism” as very obviously being influenced by modernist theological thought if not (according to Fr. Barron himself) direct quotes from modernist theologians, who’s work has been either partially or entirely condemned as heretical by the Catholic Church.
1. Fr. Barron makes an indirect citation to the work of Tielhard de Chardin (a modernist theologian) and uses de Chardin’s principal of the “divinization of man” to explain the purpose of the Incarnation in the first episode. I can only conclude that this stream of thought arises from Fr. Barron’s earlier work in which he quotes heavily from de Chardin and attempts to develop de Chardin’s modernist theology - “Bridging the Great Divide : Musings of a Post-Liberal, Post Conservative Evangelical Catholic”.
2. Fr. Barron cites Tielhard de Chardin by name (right along with St. Thomas Aquinas) in the episode on angels.
3. Fr. Barron quotes from another modernist theologian Fr. Karl Rahner at least once in the series. Karl Rahner’s work is shot-through with error. Rahner’s theory of “anonymous Christians” has been extremely problematic for the Church and for the morality of the Catholic faithful.
Fr. Barron freely admits that he was raised as a Catholic in the sixties and seventies - the “balloons and banners era” as he calls it. His theological training would have been most certainly heavily influenced by modernists and neo-modernists - de Chardin and Rahner being pillars of the modernist school of theological thought.
I am not a fallen away Catholic… I am forced to be Associated with a Total Bible Driven Church… Without the Laws of the Catholic Church, Without the Judgement within these Catholic Laws and the Wealth of a Church that is Coveted by the Papalism and not Shared with the Needy of the World. My sould needs to be assoicated with a Jesus, God and Trinity Driven Church!! I Pray for My Catholic Church to Change in these areas! to Divest in the Judgement of Church Laws and of its Wealth and associate itself to the Bible and God’s Teachings!
Fr. Barron is finally setting the”” World(Word) on fire”“
. Spiritual Communion
by a person with God is oftentimes represented by fire,candles,light, etc.
I feel this mini-series is coming at the right time. The world, especially America, needs to be educated and get their facts straight about being Catholic and the church teachings—For the media has been reporting twisted and untrue statements about the faith.
If people, like librals, want to learn the truth, I say shut your mouths and open your minds and watch this—You just may learn something.
“The churches in Europe are beautiful, but they are empty of people.
Suddenly, there you are in Africa or Poland, and the churches are full of people attending Mass and going to confession. “
Goodness. So I’m not in Europe at all? Why did I have to find out in this way that Poland is not actually in Europe?
They’ve been lying to us!
I have been saying for a while that we have the better product but the enemy has the better advertizing. I rejoice in this project, and I look forward to seeing.
I have one thought about hell: don’t go there
Watched the Catholicism Project the last few nights. I was surprised to see the presentation is more topical than narrative. At times this is great. But other times it makes it less compelling than it could be. One weakness is that the images and the music often do not reinforce what is actually being simultaneously said. I found the documentary was at its strongest when the images are actually helping tell the story or make the point. Likewise I found it was at its weakest when it becomes a series of loosely connected (albeit beautiful) images.
The irony is that some of the material Fr. Barron’s covered before in his talks (e.g. the beatitudes) are more effectively conveyed when its just him solo at an altar or podium. This is a credit to Fr. B as a speaker. But I think it also points to a weakness in the structure of the documentary. Namely, the three main threads (words, music, images) don’t always cooperate and every once in a while exist in their own separate spaces.
I just watched all 10 episodes and find them outstanding for their orthodoxy, clarity and beauty. Thank you Father Barron.
This is the real reason nothing ever gets done in the Catholic world nowadays: Any time anyone tries to do something constructive, two dozen fellow Catholics come along to attack the person trying to do God’s work, because they haven’t mentioned the ruddy Latin Mass. Or social justice. Or the importance of priests wearing an amice.
For Heaven’s sake (literally), get some perspective. How does this constant and dividing pettifoggery bring about the Kingdom?
If Fr Barron isn’t evangelising to your taste, here’s an idea: Do better yourself. But don’t do Satan’s work for him and keep confounding anyone who dares try to do something about the present, parlous status quo.
The alternative to hoping that Hell is empty, or at least not crowded, would be to hope that it is full, which doesn’t seeem the sort of thing for which a good Catholic should hope.
Film series sounds great. Balthsarian comments on an empty hell sound hollow and half-heretical, whether pope or priest mouths them. Scripture is clear if not read thru lenses strained by—yes—modernist concerns. !ut Barron is doing noble work, nonetheless. Anglican John Stott also went thru a universalist phase. He outgrew it. Let’s hope for the same here.
@ William:
Political conservatives often deride publicly funded goods (other than the military that is). And yet it was PBS that agreed to run Father Barron’s “Catholicism” series while major, secular private media corporations refused to carry it. I think it is worth reflecting on the fact that the public television format seems to be more pluralistic and willing to air a diversity of views than their private, corporate counterparts who would rather wash us in supposedly “apolitical” consumerism. The effects of a consumer/materialist culture on the public sphere should be of interest to you as a Catholic. One could argue (indeed I would) that the major institutions of consumer culture are a great obstacle to evangelization. True Catholicism does not fit in the Left/Right split that your polemics suggest. Jesus would have reached out to Leftists/tax collectors/Marxists and not sat down in fortress Christianity with the holy like wheat separated from chaff.
Well done Father Barron. May God continue to bless your ministry. My prayers are with you always!
@ Jason. Fr. Barron didn’t say that nobody goes to hell, but that we should hope nobody is in hell. I believe that was the argument used by Archbishop Fulton Sheen when he was instructing one of his converts who could not accept that a loving God would send someone to hell; but we believe hell exists. The Archbishop then came up with a compromise: You must believe that hell exists; you don’t have to believe that anyone is in hell. Since his argument is similar to what Fr. Barron says, perhaps you would not listen to him either.
While many are (rightfully) piling onto William comment, I would add that Jason’s comment was just as ignorant. Fr. Barron didn’t say that nobody goes to hell, but that we should hope nobody is in hell. If you are rooting for people to be condemned for the rest of eternity, you are most definitely the one with the problem, not Fr. Barron. At least he’s doing what he can to try to bring people to God, and thus presumably away from hell.
Father Barron’s perspective comes from St. Thomas Aquinas, not Cardinal Bernardin.
I have finished watching half of the series. As a conservative practicing Catholic, I can say without question that this is the most incredible use of modern media for evangelization I have ever witnessed. It will help all Catholics to raise their heads again in pride following the agonizing ordeal of the sex-abuse crisis which we have all suffered because of the sins of a few. The history of the Church is glorious and we should all be proud not on the defense. The Church continues to be the beacon of truth throughout the ages. Father Barrons’s episode on the mystery of God is simple superb!!
May I respectfully suggest that anyone who wonders about Fr Barron’s orthodoxy, go check out his youtube channel or the Word on Fire blog and articles. The last thing I would ever call him is leftist or heretical. Fascinating that my captcha phrase is rest68 :D
Maybe negative critique of the series, such as William’s, should be withheld until having viewed the project and truly listening to what is being said. Also, we are not being called to evangelize those who lived in centuries before us, but rather people of today who are heavily influenced by today’s anti-Christian/Catholic ignorant views. Because Father has not celebrated the Latin liturgy (maybe, maybe not..), does not make him unqualified to speak of it. That’s shallow logic; how much of history do we talk or claim to know about only because we have read or learned about it from others. (A statement, not a question).
Please remember that God has a way of allowing truth to be told. How can one be against something without viewing it first? Not to discredit your statement, but to label someone a heretic because of the school and time they attended, is assumption and accusations.
Thank you Fr Robert Barron!!
Wow William, what an unjust and harsh criticism. I have watched Fr Barron on tv and on youtube, and have never seen him say anything even close to questionable. Not only that, but he is brilliantly engaging and his clarity at explaining our faith in a way that draws people in is exactly what the Church needs right now. I wish him the best of success with this endeavor, and our family will be buying our own copy of the series and sharing it with our extended families.
Take a couple Motrin and lie down for a while, William.
William…Don’t you think that PBS is the perfect place for this? This will hit more of the target audience, which is fallen away Catholics and those who have a bad image of the Church. Seems like the perfect network to be on. Oh and FYI…All networks are anti-Catholic besides EWTN. Just look at their show line ups.
Thank you Father Baron for your witness and strength…I am sure this was not an easy task to complete.
william vlasic - you need to do a bit more leg work on this and actually watch the videos and your “suspicion”. You actually may enjoy it.
Mr. Vlasic,
His name is Fr. Robert Barron. Since you apparently do not even know his name, it is difficult to take your comment seriously.
Being one of Fr.Barron’s favorite subjects, a fallen away Catholic, I have seen the first 3 episodes of The Catholicism Project and it moves me in ways that are hard to describe. I do want to clarify that I returned to the church in 2010, so I am learning all the time about my faith, which is a precept, and this series is perfect for someone like me. It is a faith with rich history, beautiful backdrops and substantial depht and weight. Fr. Barron’s delivery is crisp, clean and articulate, his message is focused and easy to understand. I listen to his sermons each week on his site, Word on Fire, and that is just how he is, unpretentious, very thoughtful and not afraid of addressing hard issues related to The Catholic Faith. I an blessed to have found this man but more importantly his message. He helps me understand my faith in a way no one else does.
God Bless
William, it might be of interest to you to note that the liturgy prior to 1970 was only in use for about 400 years, not 1400. Although I would agree that the current liturgy may be lacking in some of the beautiful aspects of the older liturgy, but it is still the mass and would therefore have a divine beauty to it. So far as I know, his perspective is not modernist; the common traditionalist accusation that the Church is now modernist is false and unfounded. In the comments that I have heard from him, I find that he is not heretical or left-wing. As per your problem with PBS, which I would agree with to a limited extent, I would just have to say that God can use ineresting ways to achieve His purposes, even Constantine became a force for presenting Christianity, but he was of questionable morality
The Tridntine mass was only celebrated from 1570-1962, not even 400 years. Before then there was no standardized mass formula. The Trent rite was used for less than 1/5 of the history of the Universal Church.
William goes a little off track and the end of his comment but he raises an interesting point.
(I am a huge Fr. Barron/Word on Fire admirer and have seen chunks of this series - it’s excellent.0
I don’t think its a point that should be blown off too quickly. These great churches that Fr. Barron visits were built with a certain liturgy and liturgical mindset in mind. It does seem as if his experience of those spaces would be deepened by celebrating the older form of Mass there.
@william vlasic:
Really? ... REALLY?
1. How do you know he hasn’t celebrated the extraordinary form at all?
2. What about his theology comes from the modernist school?
3. Have you even watched the series to see if this ‘leftist, heretical’ theology seeps into the films?
4. The Church as the Bride of Christ is not a Vatican II interpretation. If St. Paul isn’t clear enough about it, and neither is St. Bernard’s reflection on the Song of Songs, then how about this quote from Pius XII, a pontiff before Vatican II: “For the Church, the Bride of Christ, is one; and yet so vast is the love of the divine Spouse that it embraces in His Bride the whole human race without exception.” That’s Mystici Corporis 96.
5. The Church accepts money from sinners, prostitutes, and thieves. If a neo-marxist, anti-Catholic station wants to carry a Catholic-produced, Catholic-hosted, and Catholic-minded series, then either they aren’t very anti-Catholic or we should take advantage of their willingness even if they are.
You want Christ the King to reign. He has conquered and reigns as ruler of heaven and earth - only now let Him reign in all of our hearts and bring us to life everlasting. Amen.
I’m not sold on Father Barron either. When he started in with his “we can reasonably hope that hell is empty” tripe, I stopped listening to him.
@william vlasic:
Check out WordOnFire.org and you’ll see for yourself just how wonderful Fr. Barron is.
I’ve been watching his youtube videos for years now, and not once has he been dull, heretical, or presented anything but the truth about our Church.
This is a project with amazing potential.
William,
We are to be in world, not of it; and as such it is a blessing that this series will be partially shown on PBS. We must spread the gospel through all the media. As to your comment about his supposed lack of celebrating the Latin Mass, is he just an unqualified to talk about the beauty of the sacrament of matrimony, another thing he hasn’t and can’t and won’t ever share in???
Fr. Barron has done a great thing for the faith, this is an amazing tool for evangelization, I have it and am halfway through watching it already.
Pax Christi,
Phil
How can Fr. Barrone give an accurate portrayal of liturgy since he never celebrated the Latin liturgy that was celebrated in Christondom for 1,400 years prior to 1970? Since his perspective comes from the modernist school of post-Bernardin (leftist, heretical)enviromnent makes me very suspect of this Vatican 2 council interpretation of Catholic Church as bride of Christ. Another troubling aspect is that this production is carried by the neo-marxist,anti Catholic, PBS.
Viva Christo Rey
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