In Appreciation of Bishop Barron

Bishop Robert Barron recently appeared on the Tucker Carlson Show, in a wide-ranging discussion that covered prayer, evolution, AI, the New Atheist Movement, and about a dozen more topics. Naturally, the Catholic world was excited by a Catholic bishop—and one of our most well-spoken—appearing in front of such a large, and mostly non-Catholic, audience. How would he do? What would he say?

I was not immune from the excitement, but I admit I was nervous as well. You see, I’ve never been a Bishop Barron fanboy. I’ve even been a critic at times. In my book Deadly Indifference I detail my disappointment with Barron’s appearance on the Ben Shapiro Show in 2018. When asked point-blank by the Jewish Shapiro if he should become Catholic, Barron—the de facto Chief Evangelist of the Catholic Church in America—hedged and gave what I thought was a weak, ambiguous answer. I pointed it out as a tremendous missed opportunity, and I was worried something similar would happen on Carlson’s show.

That wasn’t my only concern. I think Barron downplays the problems in the Church significantly and unreasonably exalts Vatican II. Further, while I believe that Barron is orthodox in his beliefs, he skirts the line far too closely when it comes to the salvation of all souls, a tendency he shares with his hero Hans Urs von Balthasar. In an age when most people think everyone except Hitler goes to heaven and so there’s no point in following moral rules or the Church’s teachings in general, I don’t think it’s helpful to have a popular bishop speak as if he agrees with that sentiment.

Yet through all my criticisms I’ve never doubted that he is one of our best bishops. In fact, it’s not particularly close—he’s clearly in the top 1% of bishops. I realize that the competition isn’t exactly fierce these days, yet his passion for souls is obvious, as is his willingness to speak out against the excesses and errors of our culture. Over the years I’ve encountered countless Catholics positively impacted by him, and it would be foolish to pretend otherwise. I even know a traditional religious sister who converted after listening to his works. Not many bishops, let alone many Catholics, can say they’ve brought more souls into a deeper relationship with Christ in his Catholic Church than Bishop Barron. Over the years I’ve encountered countless Catholics positively impacted by [Bishop Barron], and it would be foolish to pretend otherwise. Tweet This

My criticisms of him, in fact, have been based in large part on my overall positive assessment of him. A sports fan is far more critical of the star player who makes an error than of the benchwarmer when he gets in the game and doesn’t produce. Much more is expected of the star player. And for better or worse, Bishop Barron is clearly one of our star players.

I’ve noticed in recent years that Barron has gotten more outspoken, and I wonder if it’s just because he has his own diocese now, instead of being an auxiliary who has to answer to an archbishop. I’m guessing the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo will make his voice even stronger. So in spite of my past criticisms, I was hopeful regarding what the bishop would say on one of the most popular and influential podcasts in the world today.

I’ll cut to the chase: he was excellent. Of course there were a few things here and there I could criticize, but they were minor hiccups. What matters is preaching the Gospel and explaining the Catholic Faith in a way that the audience will hear and understand. And this Bishop Barron did. He talked about the importance of prayer and gave practical advice on how to pray. He detailed the Rosary. He explained why the New Atheist movement is essentially stupid and why no scientific theory will ever “disprove” the existence of God. He didn’t take the bait to get bogged down in another evolution debate and instead rightly focused on the more essential questions surrounding creation. He reached out to all the lost souls out there who don’t know God and gave practical advice on how to find Him (escape from yourself!).

In other words, he was a Catholic bishop in the public square acting like we wish all Catholic bishops would.

I know that many Catholics would rather we not criticize other Catholics, particularly Catholics on “our team” theologically and ideologically. I believe, however, it’s necessary and healthy to engage in such criticisms (as long as they are always charitable, which I hope I’ve been with Bishop Barron in the past). I welcome such criticisms myself. We are all muddling through this confusing time together, and so we shouldn’t pretend that some people have all the answers and are beyond criticism. At the same time, it’s good also to take a moment to praise our fellow Catholics when they do well, and this includes our bishops. 

An overemphasis on criticism can make us forget that God is still working in His Church for the good of souls. We can also in our social media age fall into the trap of nitpicking everything a public Catholic like Bishop Barron does. His style might not be my style or might not be Bishop Strickland’s style, but at the end of the day his work has helped many over the years, and his appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show was clearly a win for the Church. 

So, well done, Your Excellency!