News
May 19, 2013:
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- In a season when newly minted college graduates are frequently encouraged to "dream big" and to think of wealth, power and success, the graduation speaker at Providence College's commencement Sunday cautioned graduates not to believe that any of those things will make them happy.
Addressing the school's 1,088 graduates and others in the Dunkin' Donuts Center, the Very Rev. Robert Barron, who founded the "Word on Fire" global media ministry, said inside every individual there is a "holy longing" that can only be satisfied by being filled with God and giving one's life away for the sake of the other.
"So here is the formula," he told the graduates. "If you want to be happy, contrive to make your life a gift."
Read the article here.
March 13, 2013:
Catholic News Agency recently featured Fr. Barron's article, "The adventure of classic morality":
"One of the most significant fault lines in Western culture opened up in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when what we now know as the “modern” world separated itself from the classical and medieval world. The thinking of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Kant, Newton, Jefferson, and many others represented a sea change in the way Western people looked at practically everything. In almost every telling of the story, this development is presented as an unmitigated good. I rather emphatically do not subscribe to this interpretation. It would be foolish indeed not to see that tremendous advances, especially in the arenas of science and politics, took place because of the modern turn, but it would be even more foolish to hold that modernity did not represent, in many other ways, a severe declension from what came before. This decline is particularly apparent in the areas of the arts and ethics, and I believe that there is an important similarity in the manner in which those two disciplines went bad in the modern period..."
Read the entire article here.
May 2, 2103:
Our Sunday Vistor Newsweekly featured an article by Fr. Barron entitled "Pope Francis' take on 'the religous sense'" in which he writes about our new pontiff and his recognition of the threat that secularism poses to asking questions about our existence and the meaning of life.
Read the article here.
April 24, 2013:
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Rev. Robert Barron, creator and host of the 10-part Catholicism documentary and an on-air contributor and analyst for NBC News and other media outlets such as Fox News, CNN and EWTN, will be the featured speaker at Providence College's 95th commencement May 19.
Read the press release here.
April 15, 2013:
Catholic News Agency featured Fr. Barron's article entitled "'Gay marriage' and the breakdown of moral argument."
Read the article here.
April 11, 2013:
The Very Reverend Robert Barron, creator and host of the CATHOLICISM documentary series and founder of a global media ministry, will receive an honorary doctorate in religious education and present the Commencement Address at Providence College’s Ninety-Fifth Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 19, 2013. The ceremony will take place at 11:00 a.m. at the Dunkin' Donuts Center, 1 LaSalle Square, Providence.
Read the press release here.
April 9, 2013:
Father Robert Barron delivered the Opening Address at the 2013 National Catholic Educational Association Convention on April 2 in Houston, Texas. Father Barron spoke to a crowd of more than 8000 Catholic educators on the topic of "Proclaiming Christ to a Secular Culture," introducing his newest documentary, CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization.
Read about the event here.
March 21, 2013:
Chicago's WTTW Channel 11 will air four episodes of the CATHOLICISM series, back-to-back on Saturday, March 23, 2013.
Tune in at 9:30 am CST to view Father Barron's exploration of the beauty and truth of the Catholic Faith as the Church begins its observance of Holy Week.
Visit WTTW's website for more details on the CATHOLICISM viewing schedule.
March 19, 2013: We need ‘greater accountability’
Father Robert Barron and Maria Shriver speak with TODAY’s Matt Lauer about the newly installed Pope Francis, saying “he’ll make some tough moves” but will likely make changes “in his own time.”
Watch the TODAY show clip here.
March 17, 2013: Pope Francis offers insight to media
Pope Francis said Saturday he wanted "a poor church for the poor" in his first remarks to the media since he was elected leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
NBC’s Anne Thompson and Father Robert Barron report.
March 16, 2013: The New Francis
The Catholic News Agency featured Father Barron's article about the newest successor of Peter, Pope Francis, elected on March 13, 2013.
Read the article here.
March 16, 2013: How Pope Francis chose his name
It has been a whirlwind week for Pope Francis, but he took some time out to talk with the world’s press, revealing how he chose his famous name.
NBC’s Keir Simmons and Father Robert Barron report.
March 15, 2013:
The Hugh Hewitt Radio Show interviewed Father Barron regarding Pope Francis, elected to the Chair of Peter on March 13, 2013. Father Barron and Mr. Hewitt speak about the theology of economics, Jesuit spirituality, detachment, the curia, the name "Francis" and more.
View the radio interview transcripts here.
March 14, 2013: Pope Francis the 1st modern non-European pontiff
Hailing from Argentina, Cardinal Bergoglio – now Pope Francis, is known as a humble man who forgoes a chauffeur to take the bus to work. As the first Jesuit pope, it’s expected Francis will encourage priests to evangelize, educating others in the Catholic faith.
NBC’s Anne Thompson and Fr. Barron report here.
March 13, 2013:
The Catholic News Agency featured Father Barron's review of Garry Wills' most recent book, "Why Priests? A Failed Tradition," in which Mr. Wills questions the establishment of the sacramental priesthood and its manifestations from the time of Christ through the present age.
Read Fr. Barron's response here.
March 12, 2013: Cardinals to begin conclave, hold one vote today
This afternoon, 115 cardinals filed into the Sistine Chapel to begin discussions on who among them will be the next pope. NBC’s Lester Holt reported and Claudio Lavagna, NBC’s Rome correspondent, and Father Robert Barron discussed the decision-making process.
Watch the video coverage here.
March 12, 2013: Black smoke from chapel signals no new pope
NBC News Special Report: Lester Holt and Father Robert Barron report from Vatican City where black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel after the first vote within the papal conclave.
Watch the coverage here.
March 12, 2013: Procession of cardinals kicks off papal conclave
Lester Holt, Father Robert Barron, and George Weigel cover the procession in Vatican City as the cardinals walk from the Pauline Chapel to the Sistine Chapel.
Watch the video coverage here.
March, 2013:
Father Barron is in Rome reporting live with NBC's Lester Holt, Anne Thompson and George Weigel on the Papal Conclave.
Here, view the compiled list of video coverage from NBCNews.com.
March 10, 2013:
Could the next pope be an American? Of the nominations for pope, several names are coming to the surface, including that of Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York. Another American, Cardinal Sean O’Malley from Boston, is also considered one of the top papal contenders. TODAY’s Lester Holt interviews NBC contributor Father Robert Barron.
Watch the NBC interview here.
February 28, 2013:
Buffalo NY's John Beard & Melissa Holmes conducted a live interview with NBC News Contributor Father Robert Barron on Pope Benedict's resignation and the upcoming conclave.
Watch the video clip here.
February 27, 2013:
Father Barron reported for NBCNews.com on the Pope's departure from the Vatican, as thousands filled St. Peter's Square to bid farewell to the Holy Father.
Watch the video clip here.
February 26, 2013:
NBC News Hires Father Robert Barron for On-Air Commentary
Fr. Barron will cover the events of Pope Benedict’s departure and the election of his successor
Father Robert Barron has been hired by NBC News as a contributor and analyst covering the departure of Pope Benedict and the events leading up to the election of a new Pope. Fr. Barron will cover these events on the NBC network broadcasts as well as MSNBC and CNBC. He has already appeared on the Today Show, Nightly News and MSNBC during the past few weeks.
Fr. Barron is the founder of the global Word on Fire Catholic Ministries (www.WordonFire.org) and the Rector/President of Mundelein Seminary.
During the week of Pope Benedict’s stepping down, Fr. Barron will be on the air in New York with analysis on his departure. Barron is expected to then travel to Rome to cover the conclave to elect his successor and the announcement of the new Pope.
Father Barron is the creator and host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking, award winning documentary series about the Catholic Faith. The series has aired across the country on PBS and EWTN, and has been seen and broadcast in parishes, universities, schools and media outlets throughout the world. The documentary received a Christopher Award for excellence. Father Barron and Word on Fire will be releasing a highly anticipated new documentary "CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization" in 2013.
Father Barron currently serves as the Rector/President of Mundelein Seminary University of St. Mary of the Lake. He was appointed to the theological faculty of Mundelein Seminary in 1992, and has also served as a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. He was twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican.
Cardinal George calls Father Barron "one of the Church's best messengers."
February 16, 2013:
Check out the a second preview of Word on Fire's "CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization." In it, Fr. Barron looks at the "nones" from Australia and throughout the western world and names the man he calls "the greatest modern evangelist" in the church.
Visit the Patheos.com Catholic portal to view the newest "CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization" clip.
February 16, 2013:
The Catholic News Agency website featured Father Barron's explanation on why evagelization is most effective when it first appeals to the beautiful.
Read the article here.
February 15, 2013:
Matt Lauer of NBC's TODAY Show interviewed Fr. Robert Barron regarding the Pope's recent abdication and the candidates eligible for election to the papacy.
Watch the video interview here.
February 12, 2013:
What’s next for the Catholic Church? Now that Pope Benedict has stepped down, it’s unclear who will replace him or even how Pope Benedict will be addressed in the wake of his departure. NBC’s Anne Thompson reports, and Fr. Barron offers his thoughts on the matter on NBC Nightly News.
Watch the video clip here.
February 11, 2013:
"After a surprising abdication, an examination of Pope Benedict XVI's legacy"
MSNBC interviews Fr. Barron about the legacy of the Holy Father upon his recent abdication of the papal office.
Watch the video clip here.
January 28, 2013:
RealClearReligion featured Fr. Barron's article on the theological virtues, "Faith, Hope, and Love," in which he speaks about the trivialization of these fundamental aspects of the Christian life.
Read the article here.
January 18, 2013:
SALT LAKE CITY — Father Robert Barron, whom Cardinal Francis George calls "one of the Church’s best messengers," brought the fire of the new evangelization to a primarily Catholic audience on Jan. 10 for his keynote address at the Cathedral Ministry Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah...
Read the article here.
January 17, 2013:
RealClearReligion featured Fr. Barron's commentary on the most recent film adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic work, "Les Misérables," in which he examines the film's underlying gospel themes.
Read the article here.
January 15, 2013:
Elizabeth Scalia of Patheos.com premiered the exlusive first look at CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization, the forthcoming documentary series from Father Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
The New Evangelization continues the story of Fr. Barron’s award-winning series, exploring the Church’s mission and the challenges of contemporary culture. In it, Fr. Barron travels around the world to document how an encounter with Christ has inspired new ardor, new methods and new expressions of the Gospel message. He is going to help us learn how to spread the Good News of Christ in a world that hungers and thirsts for something, but knows not what.
Patheos.com will release more exclusive clips in the upcoming months until the release of the film series.
Watch the CATHOLICISM:The New Evangelization clip here.
January 12, 2013:
Rome Reports, the online and television news agency for the Vatican, featured Fr. Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries in a recent story about the New Evangelization.
Read the article and watch the video here.
January 3, 2013:
Catholic News Agency recently featured Fr. Barron's review of the blockbuster hit based on J.R.R. Tolkien's book, The Hobbit.
Read the article here.
January 3, 2013:
SALT LAKE CITY — Father Robert Barron, known for his Word on Fire ministry, will be the closing keynote speaker during the Cathedral Ministry Conference, which will be held in Salt Lake City in January.
The public is invited to Fr. Barron’s address; there will be a separate admission fee for those who wish to attend only his presentation.
To find out more about the event, read the press release here.
December 24, 2012:
CNN recently interviewed Father Robert Barron, asking him how to continue in faith this Christmas in spite of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.
Watch the video interview here.
December 8, 2012:
Father Barron was interviewed on FoxNews about the recent release of Pope Benedict XVI's newest title, Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives.
Watch the interview here.
December 3, 2012:
The Catholic News Agency featured Fr. Barron's response to Dr. Ralph Martin's book about heaven, hell and evangelization entitled "How Many Will Be Saved."
Read the article here.
November 20, 2012:
The Catholic News Agency featured Fr. Barron's article on Vatican II— and nature and purpose of the "meeting."
Read the article here.
November 16, 2012:
Chicago's Public Television station, WTTW, will air four episodes of CATHOLICISM on November 24, 2012, beginning at 1:30 pm. Tune in to watch Fr. Barron's epic documentary series on the Catholic Faith.
WTTW will be showing Episode 1: Amazed and Afraid, Episode 3: The Ineffable Mystery of God, Episode 4: Mary, the Mother of God, and Episode 6: The Mystery of Christ and the Church.
Tune in this Thanksgiving holiday weekend to view the CATHOLICISM Series with your family.
Click here for more information.
Father Robert Barron’s award winning series will be seen on the Eurobird and Hotbird satellites beginning today.
Chicago, Illinois (PRWEB) November 04, 2012:
"Catholicism," the popular award winning series written and hosted by Father Robert Barron, is being broadcast in Great Britain and Ireland on EWTN via the Eurobird and Hotbird satellites, including Sky EPG 589, beginning today. The series will air in consecutive weeks with three weekly opportunities to watch each episode.
The first episode airing this week is “Happy Are We: The Teachings of Jesus.” Father Barron highlights the Beatitudes, the path of non-violence and lessons of forgiveness. It will also focus on caring for the poor and our relationship to God as presented in the parables. Each 30 minute episode is scheduled to air weekly on Sunday at 2:30 pm, Monday at 10:00 pm and Thursday at 7:00 pm for the next 19 weeks.
Over 1000 episodes of Catholicism, a ground-breaking, multi-part documentary series, have aired on public broadcasting stations across the US, as well as on EWTN and CatholicTV. Eighty percent of public broadcasting stations across the country have aired the series, including New York's WNET, and Chicago's WTTW, and 18 of the top 20 television markets.
This epic television production, which won an esteemed "Christopher" award for excellence earlier this year, illustrates the history and treasures of a global religion shared by more than one billion people around the world. The series is filmed in stunning high-definition and spans more than 50 locations in 15 countries...
Read the press release here.
November 2, 2012:
The Campus Ministry Lounge is hosting viewings of the ten-part television series, “Catholicism” to celebrate internalization month at Seton Hall.
The Rev. Robert Barron, both face and founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, is the mastermind behind this series, which received rave reviews from publications such as Canada’s Salt and Light television network, America, the National Catholic Weekly and the Catholic News Service.
Inspired by Kenneth Clark’s 1969 hit BBC series “Civilisation,” “Catholicism” takes viewers on a virtual trip to fifty locations in sixteen countries, exploring the history and origins of Catholic art, literature, architecture, and music in churches, basilicas, and more.
“When you’re talking about a 10-hour program, it would become tiresome to listen to a talking head for hours,” Barron said.
Viewings of this series will take place every Wednesday and Thursday from 12:45-2 p.m. in the Campus Ministry Lounge. The last showing will be held Thursday, November 1 at 1:45 p.m...
For more information, read the Setonian press release on the event here.
October 31, 2012:
The Catholic News Agency featured Fr. Barron's response to “Chicago Sun-Times” columnist Neil Steinberg's assessment of the rise of the "nones" in our culture, those who claim no religious affiliation.
The article can be found here.
"Father Barron reflects on the Holy Land and role of beauty in evangelization"
October 29, 2012: Sean Gallagher of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis' publication, The Criterion, interviewed Fr. Robert Barron about the Holy Land and the role of beauty in evangelization, the second portion of his interview series on the the new evangelization.
Read the interview here.
October 23, 2012:
The Catholic News Agency featured Fr. Barron's article, "Sex, Love, and God: The Catholic Answer to Puritanism and Nietzcheanism."
Read the article here.
"Creator of ‘Catholicism’ documentaries reflects on Vatican II, new evangelization"
October 22, 2012: Sean Gallagher of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis' publication, The Criterion, interviewed Fr. Robert Barron about the relationship between Vatican II and the New Evangelization and the aim of the Council to "Christify the world."
Read the interview here.
October 11, 2012:
Father Robert Barron was awarded the "Christ Brings Hope Award" at the 2nd Annual Relevant Radio Christ Brings Hope Award Dinner. Relevant Radio is “Talk Radio for Catholic Life”, broadcasting 24/7 on 34 stations in 13 states and across the world over the internet. Relevant Radio owns and operates 13 stations and produces 60 hours of original programming each week.
Watch the Christ Brings Hope Award Dinner video here.
October 2, 2012:
The Catholic News Agency website featured Father Barron's article on the limits of science regarding research into the existence of God.
Read the article, "Why the sciences will never disprove the existence of God,"
here.
September 24, 2012:
Blogger Anne Bender of "Imprisoned in My Bones" recorded highlights of Fr. Barron's lecture on the New Evangelization, Proclaiming Christ to a Secular World, given as part of Archbishop Listecki's Pallium Lecture Series in Milwaukee.
Read her blog post here.
September 18, 2012:
The Catholic News Agency featured "Savvy Headhunters and the Hookup Culture," Father Barron's response to Hanna Rosin's recent column in Atlantic Monthly.
Read the article here.
August 21, 2012:
Real Clear Religion featured Father Barron's recent article on Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan and his policies, expounding upon the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity in "The Great Bi-Polar Catholicism."
Read the article here.
July 18, 2012:
"What Christ Can Teach Superheroes: The Theology of Do-Gooder Movies"
The National Catholic Register featured Father Barron's review of the newest superhero flick, "The Amazing Spider-Man."
Read the review here.
July 5, 2012:
"For a 1950s TV Evangelist, a Step Toward Sainthood"
The New York Times recently interviewed Father Barron in their article about the declaration of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen as "venerable."
Read the article here.
June 26, 2012:
RealClearReligion recently published Father Barron's reflection upon Yves Congar's book, My Journal of the Council.
Read the article here.
June 20, 2012:
Catholic News Agency featured Father Barron's review of the recently-released film about the Cristero War in Mexico in the early 20th century, "For Greater Glory."
Read the review "Vivo Cristo Rey!" here.
June 7, 2012:
The Chicago Tribune's Manya Brachear reports on Father Barron's recent appointment as Rector-President of Mundelein Seminary in an article entitled, "Seminary post takes priest out of limelight."
Read the article here.
June 5, 2012:
Father Barron's article on the recent speeches given by two prominent Catholic women—Kathleen Sibelius in an address to the graduates of Georgetown University’s public policy school, and Maureen Dowd in a column published in the New York Times—was featured on Catholic News Agency.
Read the article here.
May 18, 2012:
"New seminary rector in Mundelein is 'pleasant, insightful'"
The Lake County News-Sun featured an article on Father Barron's recent appointment as Rector-President of Mundelein Seminary.
Read the article here.
May 15, 2012: On May 10, Father Robert Barron, director of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and creator of the Catholicism Project, was named rector-president of Mundelein Seminary/University of St. Mary of the Lake by Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago.
Father Barron received a master’s degree in philosophy from The Catholic University of America in 1982 and a doctorate in sacred theology from the Institut Catholique in Paris in 1992. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1986 and had been a professor of systematic theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary since 1992. Father Barron was visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame in 2002 and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in 2007. He was also twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
The Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at Mundelein, Father Barron will assume his new role on July 1. He spoke with Register senior writer Tim Drake about the appointment...
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/father-robert-barron-named-rector-of-mundelein-seminary/#ixzz1uxbOXcOR
May 11, 2012: Father Robert Barron Appointed Rector of Mundelein Seminary today by the Archbishop of Chicago
The popular "Word on Fire" priest will also continue his work with the media group
The Archbishop of Chicago, Francis Cardinal George announced today Father Robert Barron has been appointed Rector-President of Mundelein Seminary/University of St. Mary of the Lake. Father Barron will assume this role in July at the seminary located outside Chicago.
“As a priest of Jesus Christ, I accept this responsibility with joy,“ said Father Barron. “The appointment brings together many of the elements that have long been of great importance to me, namely, the priesthood, theological scholarship, pastoral care and evangelization"...
Read the full press release here.
May 11, 2012:
Deacon Greg Kandra of The Deacon's Bench announced Father Barron's recent appointment as Rector-President of Mundelein Seminary on Patheos.com.
Read the announcement here.
May 11. 2012:
Brandon Vogt, author the The Church and New Media and moderator of The Thin Veil, published a compilation of Father Barron's reflections on the priesthood in honor of his recent appointment as Rector-President of Mundelein Seminary.
Read Brandon's article here.
May 10, 2012: Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago, has named Rev. Robert L. Barron as the rector/president of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary, effective July 1, 2012. He had been serving as the Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at Mundelein and as founding director of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. Fr. Barron joined the full-time faculty of Mundelein Seminary in 1992 and has taught at the seminary since that time. He succeeds Msgr. Dennis J. Lyle who completed six years as rector...
Read the press release here.
May 2, 2012:
"Glamour of Evil or Glimmer of Hope? Assessing reaction to The Hunger Games."
The American Spectator's Patrick O'Hannigan compiled a series of reactions to the blockbuster hit, The Hunger Games, in which he mentioned Fr. Barron's review in conjunction with a number of other critics' and columnists' assessments of the film.
Read the article here.
May 1, 2012:
The "Catholicism, Pure and Simple" Blog featured a post and video on Father Barron's recent trip to Liverpool as part of the CATHOLICISM UK Tour.
Read the post here.
April 25, 2012:
The Catholic News Agency featured Father Barron's review and commentary on the recently-released documentary film, Bully, entitled, "How to Solve the Bully Problem."
Read the article here.
April 18, 2012:
In her recent review, "'Hunger Games': Warning for Our Culture, Opportunity for Christians" on the National Catholic Registry webpage, Therese Aaker cited Father Barron's commentary on the film:
“I just want them to know that they don’t own me. If I’m going to die, I want to still be me.”
– Peeta Mellark, The Hunger Games
Those are chilling words for readers of young-adult fiction. The whole premise of young people forced to kill each other for sport is disturbing. It echoes the days of the Roman Empire, which pitted gladiators and wild animals against Christians in the Colosseum for the citizens’ entertainment. The Hunger Games, both the books and movie, is an eerie reminder of where we’ve been — and that we are capable of going there again.
In his YouTube commentary on the film, Father Robert Barron calls it a “dangerously prophetic story.” I agree: It is what our culture could become if we don’t change it. It shows what would happen if we completely erase God from our culture.
Our society has tried wiping God from the public sphere for years. The name of God is erased from public schools and even our Pledge of Allegiance. We are obsessed with reality TV and entertainment. Just take a look at how much money the box office makes. The dignity of human life is constantly under attack with issues like abortion and euthanasia. These issues are almost so “normal” we don’t really think about them anymore, and, if we do, we are often too afraid to actually make a change...
April 17, 2012:
Catholic News Agency featured Father Barron's article, "Why do Catholics leave, and what can be done about it?" on their website.
Read the article here.
April 7, 2012: RealClearReligion recently featured Father Barron's response to Andrew Sullivan's depiction of Jesus in the April 9th issue of Newsweek.
The article, "Andrew Sullivan's Non-threatening Jesus," is available here.
April 7, 2012: Editor-at-large of National Review Online and a nationally syndicated columnist, Kathryn Jean Lopez, featured a short interview with Father Barron on her blog. In the post, Ms. Lopez reflects upon the nature of responses and comments appearing through the Catholic social media forum.
Read the interview and blog piece here.
March 31, 2012: Catholic News Agency featured Father Barron's review of the movie Hunger Games.
"Father Robert Barron says the storyline in the blockbuster film “The Hunger Games,” based on the widely popular young adult book, warns of what can happen when a society becomes totally secularized.
“There is something dangerously prophetic about 'The Hunger Games,'” said Fr. Barron, founder of the media group “Word on Fire” and host of the PBS-aired “Catholicism” series.
The movie, which has already brought in $214 million worldwide since its March 23 release, is based on the young adult book of the same title by Suzanne Collins'...
Read the rest of the CNA article here.
March 29, 2012:
Matthew Cantirino, on the First Things blog, "First Thoughts," took a closer look at Father Barron's recent review of The Hunger Games. Cantirino's article, "Scapegoats and Sacrificial Games," is featured below.
"Fr. Robert Barron, producer of last year’s much-touted Catholicism series, offers some thoughts on the popularity of the Hunger Games over at the Corner. His reflections won’t, perhaps, be terribly novel to those with a solid religious background, but as that represents a shrinking demographic in our country, he says, we shouldn’t be surprised to see pop culture begin investigating or dabbling with the allure of human sacrifice:
The really interesting question is this: Why has this motif of the sacrificial victim played such a large role in the human imagination for so long? Why do we keep acting out this scenario, both in reality and in our literature? The contemporary literary theorist Rene Girard has speculated that practically every human community is grounded in what he calls “the scapegoating mechanism.” [. . .]
He found that Christianity was the one religion, philosophy, or ideology that both unmasked this scapegoat mechanism and showed a way out. For at the heart of Christian revelation is God’s utter identification, not with the perpetrators of violence, but with the scapegoated victim. The crucified Jesus is hence the undermining of the dynamic that has undergirded most civilizations and that continues to beguile the human imagination to this day. [. . .]"
Read the rest of the article here.
March 29, 2012:
Cardinal Donald Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington mentioned Father Barron's CATHOLICISM series on his blog today, calling to mind the portion of the series that featured Matthias Grunewald's "Isenhiem Altarpiece" and how its depiction of Christ on the cross exemplifies true joy.
Read Cardinal Wuerl's post here.
March 28, 2012: National Review Online published "The Hunger Games: A Prophecy?", Father Barron's review of the box office hit, The Hunger Games:
"When I was a junior in high school, I read Shirley Jackson’s great short story “The Lottery,” and I will confess that her narrative still haunts me. You might remember the plot. The townspeople of a village in the American heartland are gathering on a beautiful summer day in late June for a festival. There is good food, lively conversation, and upbeat music. It becomes clear that the focus for this celebration is the annual lottery, and the reader naturally assumes that the winner of the lottery will receive a prize of some kind. But when the choice is made, the “winner” shrinks away in fear, protesting the injustice of it all, while her fellow citizens close in on her, rocks and stones in hand. As the story ends, they are upon her.
In medieval Mexico, the Aztecs would choose a particularly handsome and brave warrior from a rival tribe. For a year, they would wine and dine him, provide entertainment for him, and treat him like a celebrity. Then, at the close of the year, they would lead him to the top of a tall pyramid and rip his still-beating heart from his chest, and offer it to the gods..."
Read the entire article here.
March 27, 2012:
The Catholic News Agency features Father Barron's commentary, "The Revolutionary Message of Palm Sunday":
The texts that Christians typically read on Palm Sunday have become so familiar to them that they probably don't sense their properly revolutionary power. But no first-century Jew would have missed the excitement and danger implicit in the coded language of the accounts describing Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem just a few days before his death.
In Mark’s Gospel we hear that Jesus and his disciples “drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives.” A bit of trivial geographical detail, we might be tempted to conclude. But we have to remember that pious Jews of Jesus’ time were immersed in the infinitely complex world of the Hebrew Scriptures and stubbornly read everything through the lens provided by those writings...
Read the article here.
March 23, 2012:
Parish Members of St. Gregory the Great Parish in Virginia Beach, VA, began a 5 month pilgrimage with Father Barron's CATHOLICISM series this month. The Catholic Virginian shares the story:
“It has taken off like wildfire,” Emily Filippi, director for Christian Formation, said of the series. The diocese sold 500 copies of the study guides within 24 hours and has now ordered an additional 500 which can be purchased at a 50 percent discount.
The program can be used by a variety of audiences, Mrs. Filippi said, pointing out that it would be ideal for a parish RCIA group, returning Catholics who have been away from the Church or another adult formation program.
“People get to watch it, hear it, see the images and then you reflect on it with other people on what it means to you and how it affects your life,” she explained, adding that the DVDs have “wonderful cinematography” of various places around the world and the people who live there.
“You’re always hearing music and seeing images while Father Barron is speaking,” she added.
“The beauty of it is you just need a facilitator,” Mrs. Filippi asserted. “You don’t have to have a sophisticated adult faith formation program in your parish already formed. This is a good way to start”...
Read the rest of the story here.
NEW YORK, March 21, 2012 — A young adventurer risks his life to reunite trafficked children with their families; African-American maids in the South reclaim their dignity through sharing their stories; a priest travels around the world to explore the history of the Catholic Church. These stories and more are told in the 22 feature films, TV/Cable programs, and books for adults and young people being honored with Christopher Awards, to be presented in New York on May 24th, 2012.
Created in 1949, The Christopher Awards are presented to writers, producers, directors and illustrators whose work affirms the highest values of the human spirit. Christopher Awards program manager, Tony Rossi, says, “Not only are this year’s winners entertaining, engaging and inspiring, they also reflect the power of our individual choices to shape the lives of others in unexpected ways"...
Read more about the award recipients, including the CATHOLICISM series, here.
March 15, 2012:
CatholicTV Monthly's February issue features a full-length special on Father Barron and CATHOLICISM.
Read the story and view the photos here.
March 15, 2012:
"Catholics urged to find new ways to evangelise"
The onliine publication of the Archdiocese of Brisbane in Australia, The Catholic Leader, reported on Father Barron's presentation at the Edmund Rice Performing Arts Centre at St Laurence's College, South Brisbane, on March 8-- part of a national tour sponsored by Australian Catholic University.
Read the article here.
March 14, 2012:
Catholic News Agency featured Father Barron's article, "Cleansing of the Temple:"
Artistic representations of the Ten Commandments often depict two stone tablets on which there are two tables of inscriptions.
This portrayal follows from a classical division of the commandments in which there are two specific categories—those that order humanity’s relationship with God and those that order human relationships with one another. If we consider the Bible as a totality, it becomes apparent that the Scriptures give priority to the first table, those commands dealing with God.
The Ten Commandments begin with an insistence that the Lord alone is God and there are to be no other gods besides him. This is not just a principle meant to order humanity’s expressions of ritualized worship, but a statement about the ethos of the entire moral and spiritual order. Whatever it is that humanity worships, be it the gods of the ancients or the allures of wealth, power, pleasure and honors, will by necessity give rise to our perceptions and practices concerning the moral life. The God or gods in whom we place our ultimate concern will direct our lives and determine our choices...
Read the article here.
March 12, 2012:
On Sunday 4th March more than 180 people filled two lecture rooms at the Thomas Carr Centre to hear Fr Robert Barron deliver the John Paul II Institute's 2012 Harman Lecture.
Fr Barron, a priest from Chicago and creator of the recently launched Catholicism documentary series, spoke on the topic "The Priority of Christ in the New Evangelisation". Fr Barron's talk will be available for downloand from our website very soon...
Read the article here.
March 11, 2012:
The Our Catholic World's Daniel Klimek writes on "Living (not just speaking about) Evangelization: Advice from Fr. Robert Barron".
Read the post here.
March 9, 2012:
The Archdiocese of Sydney's online publication featured the story of Father Barron's tour through Australia premiering CATHOLICISM: "Fr. Robert Barron Brings His 'Catholic Thing' to Australia."
Read the entire article here.
March 7, 2012:
Father Barron's article, "Let's stop talking about evangelization and do it!" was featured on the Catholic News Agency website.
Read the article here.
March 6, 2012:
The Age, a national news publication in Australia, featured the story of Father Barron's journey through the land down under presenting his CATHOLICISM series, a ray of light within a "dark time for Catholicism."
Read the full story here.
March 6, 2012:
The Anchor, the weekly publication of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, praises CATHOLICISM as "an important evengelical tool."
By Kenneth J. Souza, Anchor Staff
FALL RIVER, Mass. — One of the key concepts Father Robert Barron had when he first set out to create his acclaimed 10-part documentary series “Catholicism” was to find a way to bring together the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith.
“That was a big motivating factor for me,” Father Barron told The Anchor. “I wanted to show the texture of Catholicism. We have all this great, visible wealth in the Church and I didn’t want to reduce it to just words and ideas. Whenever we had an idea to present, we asked ourselves: ‘How can we show that idea?’ And that’s really what inspired the whole series”...
Read the article here.
March 5, 2012:
American theologian, author and film-maker Fr Robert Barron was given a warm welcome by Melbourne’s Catholics—young and old—yesterday as he commenced his inaugural Australian tour.
Fr Barron, from Chicago, is in Australia for two weeks with his film crew, to continue his documentary work and to promote his 10-part series called Catholicism, which was first aired on America’s public broadcasting network last September.
Hosted by Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Parousia Media, Fr Barron will speak with students and staff at ACU’s Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane and Ballarat campuses, as well as members of the broader community in a series of public talks...
Read the article here.
March 2, 2012:
Chicago priest Fr Robert Barron, often described as "one of the Church's best messengers" and director of the very popular new evangelisation ministry Word on Fire arrives in Australia this weekend for a series of speaking engagements.
Accompanied by his film crew Fr Barron will also be interviewing a number of our leading clergy including the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell...
Read the press release here.
February 29, 2012:
Irondale, AL (EWTN) – You asked to see it again! Watch the original six episodes of “Catholicism” that previously aired on EWTN – now in a new 30-minute format. (For a complete schedule, please go to www.ewtn.com/series/shows/catholicism.)
“Viewers have also asked about the four episodes to which PBS has exclusive rights,” said EWTN Executive Vice President & COO Doug Keck. “Those rights will soon expire. EWTN is looking forward to airing those episodes when they become available in September.”
If you somehow missed it the first time, Fr. Robert Barron and his film crew visited more than 50 locations in 16 different countries during the four years it took to produce this multimillion-dollar documentary of faith and history. Catholic Commentator George Weigel calls it “the most important media project in the history of the Catholic Church in America.” (See the “Catholicism” trailer at www.CatholicismSeries.com.)
View the press release and schedule here.
February 23, 2012:
“Catholicism” is catching on.
The 10-part DVD series is being shown in parishes around the diocese and a group of prisoners, after seeing one episode, asked to see the entire series.
The “Catholicism” documentary was created by Father Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Chicago, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. It was released last September. The executive producer is Mike Leonard, who has been a correspondent on NBC’s Today show and produced the public television series “Rule of Our Lives.”
According to LaVerne Bertin, associate director of the diocesan Office of Religious Education, 11 parishes are showing the series now and many more are planning to do so. She said she received many calls about the series after her name appeared as a contact person in an ad in The Catholic Free Press.
Her office is offering a program to teach people techniques for helping others get the most out of the series.
“It’s catching on with ordinary people,” she said...
Read the article on Catholic Free Press.
February 17, 2012:
New York Daily News featured an article on Cardinal-elect Timothy Dolan's recent keynote address to the Pope and the College of Cardinals in Rome, in which he spoke extensively about the new media and evangelism. In addition, he praised Father Barron and his ministry, Word on Fire.
Read the article here.
The Reuter's press release on Dolan's speech can be found here.
February 17, 2012:
The National Catholic Register's Mark Shea featured Father Barron's video commentary, "The HHS Mandate: Anti-Catholic and Un-American" on his NCR blog. In the post, Mark expounds upon the dangers of a secular totalitarianism.
Read the blog post here.
February 17, 2012:
"Catholicism," the popular 10-part series written and hosted by Father Robert Barron, is being donated to all facets of the Catholic faith communities in the U.S. military across the world by Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. The documentary is being sent to support military priests, chaplains and lay leaders serving the pastoral needs of those on ships, deployed overseas, in V.A. medical centers and on U.S. Military installations around the world.
"The 'Catholicism' series provides an effective opportunity to engage active duty young adults in the Catholic faith,” said Mark Moitoza, the Vice Chancellor for Evangelization at the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. “We estimate that there are about 300,000 Catholic young adults in the military and our archdiocese recently has been making a concerted effort to reach out to these young men and women serving our country"...
Read the press release here.
February 17, 2012:
Pilot Catholic News, America's oldest Catholic newspaper and the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, released the news that the CATHOLICISM series is coming to viewers in the greater Boston area.
Read the article and find out more information here.
February 12, 2012: CATHOLICISM Executive Producer Mike Leonard was the keynote speaker at Providence College's first Alumni & Family Weekend, an event that welcomed PC graduates, parents of upperclassmen, as well as prospective students to its Rhode Island campus. Leonard, Providence College class of 1970, spoke for close to an hour about his unexpected faith journey, his involvement with the project, as well as his four critical, life-altering years spent as a hockey player at PC. The crowd of close to 1,000 gave him a standing ovation at the end of his talk. To read about the event, see
here.
February 10, 2012:
Catholic News Agency features Father Barron's article, "The HHS Mandate: Anti-Catholic and Un-American."
Read the article here.
February 9, 2012: Elmhurst College, a private, four-year college affiliated with the United Church of Christ, invited Father Barron to deliver its annual Joseph Cardinal Bernadin Lecture to a packed house at the Frick Center. Read about the event
here.
February 8, 2012:
National Review Online featured Father Barron's article entitled, "HHS Mandate: Anti-Catholic and Un-American."
Read the article here.
February 8, 2012:
Makers of 'Catholicism' series to speak at Providence College Saturday
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Author and theologian Rev. Robert Barron and filmmaker Mike Leonard, who collaborated in the making of the 10-part "Catholicism" series that aired recently on PBS and EWTN, will be featured speakers Saturday at Providence College's Alumni and Family Weekend, speaking at the Peterson Center at 10 a.m.
Father Barron was creator and host, and Leonard the executive producer, for the acclaimed series, visiting 50 locations in 15 countries over two years.
The priest-theologian is a frequent commentator on numerous national media outlets. Leonard, a 1970 PC alumnus, is a veteran correspondent for NBC-TV's "Today Show."
Saturday's event is free but anyone wishing to go is urged to call the school in advance at (401) 865-2344. More can be found on the website alumni.providence.edu/HeartOfFaith
Visit the website here.
February 8, 2012: "The Ax" blog, by Father Tom Provenzano, reviewed Father Barron's CATHOLICISM, calling him a "a perfect face for the New Evangelization." Read his full review here.
February 2, 2012:
"Gifted US Preacher bound for Brisbane": The Archdiocese of Brisbane's Catholic publication, The Catholic Leader, featured and article on the Word on Fire apostolate, the CATHOLICISM series, and Father Barron's upcoming trip to Brisbane.
Read the article here.
January 30, 2012:
Following Pope Benedict XVI's "World Communications Day" message regarding silence and evangelization, Liz Faublas of New York's NETtv interviewed Father Barron on the program, Currents.
Watch the interview here.
January 27, 2012: Father Barron's series CATHOLICISM will be shown Wednesday nights through April 11 starting next week at the Bishop Baker Parish Center at the Cathedral Parish of St. Augustine, Fla. For more information on the ongoing event, click here.
January 24, 2012: "Servant of the Word banquet, workshop to honor Father Robert Barron"
Father Robert Barron will be in Denver next month to receive this year’s Servant of the Word Award from the Catholic Biblical School.
He considers it a great honor to serve the word of God.
“I’m not here to preach a word of mine, my own philosophical musings, or my own perspective,” he said by telephone from his office at the Mundelein Seminary near Chicago. “When you’re a servant of the word, it’s the word of God that’s given to you—and you have the privilege of searching out its meaning, then searching out its relevance for our time.”
On Feb. 17-18, the Biblical School will host the Servant of the Word banquet Friday night, followed by a workshop on Saturday with presentations from Father Barron; Jonathan Reyes, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver; and Father John Riley, faculty member at Denver’s Augustine Institute and St. John Vianney Theological Seminary....
Read the article in the Denver Catholic Registry.
January 23, 2012: RealClearReligion.com featured Father Barron's response to Jefferson Bethke's viral YouTube video, "Why I hate religion but Love Jesus" in an article entitled, "YouTube's Modern Day Martin Luther."
Read the article here.
January 11, 2012: Providence, R.I.--Rev. Robert Barron, creator and host of the new documentary series Catholicism, and Mike Leonard ’70, the show’s executive producer, will be the keynote speakers on February 11 during Alumni & Family Weekend at Providence College.
Father Barron, a Chicago-area priest, and Leonard, a correspondent for NBC-TV’s Today show, will discuss their two-year collaboration on Catholicism and answer questions from the audience. Their talk, “Journey to the Heart of the Faith,” will be given at 10:00 a.m. in the Peterson Recreation Center. It is open to the public.
Since the release of Catholicism in September, Father Barron and Leonard have spoken together around the country, but Leonard said the address at PC will mark their first appearance at a college.
Read the rest of the article here.
January 11, 2012: Public invited to free viewings of popular ‘Catholicism’ series
There are two opportunities coming up in the Denver metro area for people to view all 10 episodes of the documentary series “Catholicism,” created by Father Robert Barron of Word On Fire ministry.
On Wednesday evenings Jan. 18 through Feb. 15, Denver’s Catholic Biblical School will run the series at the John Paul II Center in Denver; and on Monday evenings Jan. 23 through March 26, St. Thomas More Church in Centennial will air episodes.
The series, which premiered last fall, tells the story of the Catholic faith using art, architecture, literature and music. It was described as “the most important media project in the history of the Catholic Church in America” by papal biographer and columnist for the Denver Catholic Register George Weigel...
Read the entire article here.
January 10, 2012:
The Catholic News Agency featured Fr. Barron's article entitled, "A Persecuted Church and It's Heroes."
Read the article here.
January 6, 2012: The New York Times covered the story of Pope Benedict XVI's elevation of 22 priests to the College of Cardinals on the Church's Feast of the Epiphany. Among the 22 was New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan. In the article, Father Barron was quoted regarding this magnanimous figure.
Congratulations to Cardinal Dolan and the rest of the newly-appointed Cardinals.
Read the New York Times article here.
January 2, 2012: CatholicNewsAgency.com featured Fr. Barron's article entitled, "Why I Loved to Listen to Christopher Hitchens."
Read the article here.
December 29, 2011:
CatholicVote.org just released a list of "Seven 2011 Events that will Change the Church's Story in America," and the CATHOLICISM series was mentioned as number three.
Read the entire list here.
Father Robert Barron previews the popular documentary on NBC's Today Show and at the New York Times Center
Chicago, Illinois (PRWEB) December 20, 2011:
Over 1000 episodes of Catholicism, a ground-breaking, multi-part documentary series, have aired on public broadcasting stations across the nation in less three months since its September 22 premiere. This fall, over 65% of public television stations have broadcast the mini-series, including New York's WNET, and Chicago's WTTW. Eighteen of the top 20 markets are carrying Catholicism, and it will continue to air in 2012 and also weekly on EWTN as more stations pick up the programs.
This week in New York, the documentary was featured on NBC's Today Show with Father Robert Barron, the host and writer of the series, and Executive Producer Mike Leonard. The New York premiere screening of Catholicism was also held at the Times Center, with an introduction by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, for over 400 people.
This epic 10 episode television production illustrates the history and treasures of a global religion shared by more than one billion people around the world. The series is filmed in stunning high-definition and spans more than 50 locations in 15 countries...
The CATHOLICISM series was recently featured on NBC's Today Show with Father Robert Barron, the host and writer of the series, and Executive Producer Mike Leonard.
Watch the re-cap of their interview with Ann Curry here.
December 7, 2011: The author of the theology blog "Quiet, Dignity, and Grace" recently reviewed Father Barron's book CATHOLICISM, saying, "If you give someone a single book this year on the Catholic faith, it should be Fr. Barron's Catholicism. His book is one that will become a classic." To read the full review, click here.
November 28, 2011: The National Catholic Register reports that CATHOLICISM will be translated, dubbed and broadcast in Germany. See the article
here.
November 23, 2011: The Catholic News Agency ran Father Barron's piece titled "Why We Should Welcome the New Mass" in anticipation of the change on the first Sunday of Advent. Read the column
here.
November 21, 2011: The Catholic weekly publication "America" reviewed CATHOLICISM in its latest issue. See the review on its web page here.
November 19, 2011: Canada's Salt + Light Television will premiere CATHOLICISM on Sunday, November 20, at 8:30pm ET/ 5:30pm PT. The series will continue on Salt + Light every Sunday until the finale on Saturday, December 24.
Additionally, the Salt + Light blog offered a review of the series by contributor Cheridan Eygelaar, which you can read here.
November 19, 2011: Alabama online news source, AL.com, featured an article on Father Barron and CATHOLICISM.
Read the article here.
November 18, 2011: Patheos.com's Matt Emerson defends CATHOLCISM in the wake of some critiques made in a recent review. See his column
here.
November 17, 2011: The Catholic News Agency published a piece about EWTN running unaired CATHOLICISM episodes. See the article
here.
November 4, 2011: The University of Notre Dame announced plans to host a screening of CATHOLICISM on Thursday, November 10 at 3:30 p.m. The screening will be sponsored by the Colleges of Engineering and Science and will include clips from all 10 episodes as well as a discussion facilitated by Father Barron and the colleges' deans. Fore more details about the event, see the University's
news page.
November 1, 2011: The Washington Post's religion blog, "On Faith," featured Father Barron's review of the movie "Ides of March."
Read the review here.
November 1, 2011: IRONDALE, AL - Now, get the rest of story as EWTN premieres the six episodes of this lavishly-produced series that public television didn’t! See “Catholicism” Wednesday, Nov. 16 through Saturday, Nov. 19. These six episodes have never before been seen on national television and will air exclusively on EWTN!
Fr. Robert Barron and his film crew visited more than 50 locations in 16 different countries during the two years it took to produce this multimillion dollar documentary of faith and history. Catholic Commentator George Weigel calls this “the most important media project in the history of the Catholic Church in America.” (See the “Catholicism” trailer at www.CatholicismSeries.com.)
Read the press release here.
October 31, 2011: Prominent blogger Andrew Sullivan posted Father Barron's commentary on Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life," calling it a "wonderfully sensitive and eloquent Catholic interpretation" of the film. See the video on Sullivan's blog, The Daily Beast,
here.
Father Barron and CATHOLICISM Executive Producer Mike Leonard joined the
Chicago Tribune's Manya Brachear for a brief interview about the 10-part series and its production on the paper's stage and radio show, "Chicago Live!." Watch the interview, which took place Oct. 20,
here.
October 26, 2011: The Midland Daily News online journal published the article "Delta to air 'Catholicism' documentary series" in their publication, reviewing both the content of Fr. Barron's CATHOLICISM and reporting on upcoming airing dates and times for regions of Michigan.
Read the article here.
October 26, 2011: The National Catholic Reporter ran an article about CATHOLICISM's run on PBS stations nationwide. Read the story here.
October 24, 2011: Catholic News Agency featured Father Barron's article "What Faith Is and What It Isn't" today on its web site. Father Barron is a guest columnist for the CNA. Read the article here.
"The Protestant theologian Paul Tillich once commented that “faith” is the most misunderstood word in the religious vocabulary. I’m increasingly convinced that he was right about this. The ground for my conviction is the absolutely steady reiteration on my Internet forums of gross caricatures of what serious believers mean by faith. Again and again, my agnostic, atheist, and secularist interlocutors tell me that faith is credulity, naïvete, superstition, assent to irrational nonsense, acceptance of claims for which there is no evidence, etc., etc. They gladly draw a sharp distinction between faith so construed and modern science, which, they argue, is marked by healthy skepticism, empirical verification, a reliable and repeatable method, and the capacity for self-correction. How fortunate, they conclude, that the western mind was able finally to wriggle free from the constraints of faith and move into the open and well-lighted space of scientific reason. And how sad that, like a ghost from another time and place, faith continues, even in the early twentieth century to haunt the modern mind and to hinder its progress..."
Read the rest of the article here.
October 21, 2011: The Catholic News Agency ran Father Barron's review of Stephen Greenblatt's "The Swerve." You can see the review on CNA's web page here.
"In 2005, Harvard scholar Stephen Greenblatt published a wonderful book on Shakespeare called 'Will in the World.' Witty, insightful and surprising, it caused thousands of people, including your humble scribe, to look at the Bard with new eyes. Thus it was with great anticipation that I opened my copy of Greenblatt’s latest 'The Swerve: How the World Became Modern.' Like its forebear, this new book is indeed lively, intelligent and fun to read, but as I moved through it I grew increasingly irritated and finally exasperated by its steady insistence upon one of the most tired myths of the contemporary academy, namely, that the modern world, in all of its wonder and promise, emerged out of a long and desperate struggle with (wait for it) Roman Catholicism.
The unlikely hero of Greenblatt’s story is one Poggio Bracciolini, a humanist of the early 15th century who labored as a scribe at the papal court and who, in his spare time, searched for ancient texts, neglected and moldering in monastic libraries across Europe. On a hunting expedition, most likely to the great monastery at Fulda, Poggio liberated a text that, Greenblatt holds, decisively shaped the evolution of the modern mind: the “De rerum natura” (On the Nature of Things), composed by the first century B.C. Roman writer Lucretius. In this philosophical poem Lucretius argued that the universe is made up exclusively of atoms—tiny, invisible particles—that, across infinite time and through infinite space, randomly arrange themselves into patterns and then fall apart. Furthermore, he taught that there is no divine mind governing the process; the soul is as mortal and dissoluble as the body; there is no afterlife; humans are not unique in the cosmos but rather are animals somewhat more evolved than others; religion is fear-based and cruel; and the whole point of life is to maximize pleasure and avoid pain. The rather cold and grim vision of the universe laid out in the “De rerum natura” Greenblatt takes as a harbinger of “modern” view that happily holds sway today—at least in Ivy League faculty lounges..."
Read the rest of the review on CNA's web page here..
October 18, 2011: Steven D. Greydanus, popular Christian film critic and moderator of DecentFilms.com, reviews CATHOLICISM for the Christianity Today Entertainment blog. Read his review below.
Half a century ago, Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s weekly television series Life Is Worth Living (and later The Fulton Sheen Program) was watched by millions of Americans of all stripes. Sheen was “America’s Priest,” and since then there has been no comparable figure in American culture—and there may never be.
That said, Father Robert Barron, a priest of the Chicago archdiocese and the Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at Mundelein Seminary, is making inroads into mainstream media in a way not seen since Sheen. On Sunday, October 3, Chicago-based superstation WGN America launched a weekly half-hour television series, Word on Fire with Father Robert Barron—the first regular commercial television show hosted by a priest since Sheen. Then there’s Catholicism, an ambitious ten-episode series, episodes of which are now airing on PBS affiliate in over 85 markets across the country...
Click here and/or check local PBS listings for Catholicism. The series is also available as a five-disc DVD set at catholicismseries.com.
Visit the CT Entertainment blog here.
October 16, 2011: Catherine O'Connell-Cahill recently reviewed CATHOLICISM for the online publication of U.S. Catholic:
Father Robert Barron, a Chicago priest who has appeared often in the pages of U.S. Catholic since his interview with the editors in 1997, has brought his years-in-the-making Catholicism series to public TV this fall. Up to 70 percent of PBS stations will air four episodes (screenings listed here); the series of ten DVDs are for sale here, with a companion book and a study guide.
Catholicism is nothing if not ambitious, and the product is stunning--visually beautiful, stirring, filmed at sites in Europe, North and South America, Africa, the Philippines, Turkey, India, and the Holy Land. Barron sets out to be far more than just a Ken Burns-type historian of the Catholic Church, though his series easily equals Burns’ productions in quality. Instead he seeks to tell the Catholic story for listeners in the 21st century, speaking to the head, the heart, and the soul...
Read the article here.
October 15, 2011: The Catholic News Service featured a review of CATHOLICISM on their website, calling the series "a visually splendid and intellectually satisfying introduction to Catholic Christianity."
Read the review here.
October 12, 2011: The Chicago Tribune's Manya Brachear reports on Father Barron's epic documentary project about the Catholic Church, CATHOLICISM.
The Rev. Robert Barron opens his documentary "Catholicism" with words one might expect to hear from a skeptic or scholar, not from a Roman Catholic priest. He calls Jesus a strange and dangerous historical figure and alludes to his potentially divisive nature.
After all, you're either with him or against him, right?
"I wanted to get people's attention and draw their attention to the fact that Jesus is a very distinctive and disturbing figure because of the claims he makes about himself and the claims the church makes about him," said Barron, 51. "He's not just another bland spiritual teacher among many"...
Read the Chicago Tribune article here.
October 11, 2011: The Catholic News Agency (CNA) featured Fr. Barron's review of the recently released blockbuster hit, "Moneyball."
Read the article on CatholicNewsAgency.com
October 11, 2011: James Davis of Newsvine.com offered his review of the CATHOLICISM series.
Read it here.
October 6, 2011: Father Barron and his CATHOLICISM series were featured in an article by the Chicago Sun-Times' Maudlyne Ihejirika. Read the full article here. Below, an excerpt.
"Seeing is Believing on 'Catholicism'"
Catholicism. A religion full of history and tradition, so complex; at times confusing for those who practice it, much less those looking in; sparking anger and, alternately, intense devotion.
A new 10-part documentary with its roots in Chicago — filmed in 15 different locales ranging from Athens, Jerusalem and Mexico City to Germany, Istanbul and Uganda — is shining a unique spotlight on the history and tenets of the religion shared by a billion people worldwide.
One-hour episodes of “Catholicism” will air the next four Thursdays at 8 p.m. on WTTW-Channel 11.
“I believe that beauty is a route of access to truth,” says the Rev. Robert Barron, an Archdiocese of Chicago priest and creator of the series...
Read the entire article here.
October 6, 2011: The Cardinal Newman Society, a Virginia-based organization seeking to strengthen Catholic higher education, praised CATHOLICISM on its blog. View the write-up here. The following is an excerpt of the blog post.
Fr. Robert Barron’s new CATHOLICISM series is currently continuing its world premiere on stations throughout the United States. The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) recommends the series as a tool unsurpassable in quality for promoting Catholic identity and spurring on the New Evangelization.
“We eagerly recommend Fr. Barron’s CATHOLICISM series,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of CNS.
“Father Barron lets the Catholic faith be itself,” continued Reilly, “and the result is a beautiful and irresistible account of our Catholic identity. Never before has there been such an effective vehicle for spreading the light of Christ through the media.”...
See the full blog post here.
October 6, 2011: Father Barron's book "Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith" is featured in the Patheos Book Club. Included are links to interviews, excerpts, overviews and reviews of the book and the 10-part series. See the feature here.
"Clarity, intelligence, passion and elegance—these are the marks of a writer in top for, and Father Barron brings all these gifts to bear in this extraordinary reflection on the Catholic faith. If you read one book this year on what Catholics believe and why, this is the book to read—and to share with others."
—Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap, Archbishop of Denver
October 3, 2011: Father Barron and his CATHOLICISM series were the the subject of Dan Burke's post on his Catholic Spiritual Direction blog. Read the post here.
I posted this over at the National Catholic Register and thought that you might be interested as well…
Finding Father Robert Barron these days is an easy task. This is good news for those who love the Church, and good news for those on the outside wondering if they should step in, or even back in as the case may be. Whether it be books, radio, DVDs, or television, Father Barron’s seemingly ubiquitous voice has been called “one of the Church’s best messengers” by Cardinal Francis George. With a nimble intellect and loving heart, Father Barron has given the faithful an arsenal of catechetical material. However, now he presents the Catholic faithful and a searching world a landmark production on a scale and quality rivaled only by Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Father Barron’s 10-part miniseries Catholicism has been hailed by George Weigel as “the most important media project in the history of the Catholic Church in America.”...
Read the entire blog post here.
October 4, 2011: Father Barron, writing as a guest columnist for the Catholic News Agency, examines the importance of Pope Benedict XVI's recent trip to his homeland in "Pope Benedict XVI Among the Germans." Read the column here.
It is with a particular fascination that I’ve been following the speeches that Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) has been delivering in his native Germany. We can certainly hear Herr Doktor Professor Ratzinger in the distinctively academic rhetoric of the addresses, but we also hear the voice of a pastor, uttering a cri de coeur to his wandering flock. In his first speech on the tarmac in Berlin, upon being welcomed by the officials of the German government, Benedict XVI specified that his main purpose was not to foster diplomatic relations between the German nation and the Vatican City State—as welcome as that would be—but rather to speak of God...
Read the rest of Father Barron's column here.
October 3, 2011: The National Catholic Register's Tim Drake talked to Father Barron recently about CATHOLICISM, how the series came to be, and where its headed. Read the full interview here.
Evangelizing the culture is Father Robert Barron’s goal. A television series on the Catholic faith 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 is debuting this fall on EWTN and PBS 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 restore 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.”...
Read the rest of Drake's interview with Father Barron here.
October 2, 2011: Father Barron was interviewed by Doug Keck on his show "Bookmark" on EWTN. They discussed Father Barron's book "Word on Fire: Proclaiming the Power of Christ." To view the interview, please visit EWTN's YouTube channel.
October 1, 2011: LibraryJournal.com, a media resource for the library industry, reviewed Father Barron's CATHOLICISM companion book. See the review here.
"Barron (Francis Cardinal George Chair of Faith & Culture, Mundelein Seminary) has written a companion book to his ten-part documentary, Catholicism. As such, his book is not a systematic catechism or an official statement of doctrine but a more organically organized tour by a man of great personal faith. Addressing such topics as Jesus’s teachings, the Virgin Mary, the sacraments, the communion of saints, and prayer, Barron’s book is richly and aptly illustrated and learned without being oppressive. VERDICT Integrating personal story and insight with a lifetime’s experience and knowledge, this is an excellent and personal introduction to Catholicism for readers new to the faith as well as lifetime Catholics."
See the review here.
September 30, 2011: The Catholic World Report, an international monthly orthodox Catholic news journal, ran a "web exclusive" interview with Father Barron today. Read the rest of Father Matthew Gamber's story, "The Integrating Heart of the Culture," here.
Father Robert Barron recently sat down in his Chicago-area offices with Father Matthew Gamber, SJ for a discussion about Barron’s newly released 10-part DVD series, Catholicism. Produced at a cost of three million dollars, all of which was raised through private donations, the series will be shown on nearly 90 public television stations around the US this fall. It will be broadcast on EWTN, as well.
The series covers the major themes of the Catholic faith—taking viewers on a world-wide tour of its doctrines, its past and present, its sights, sounds, and especially its people. Highly experienced professionals from the world of network television helped to produce the series, in which Father Barron serves as the narrator and master teacher.
Father Barron holds the Francis Cardinal George Chair of Faith and Culture at St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary near Chicago, and has been a guest professor at many of the pontifical universities in Rome. He heads the organization Word on Fire, which produced the series and which is dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel through the use of modern media.
Read the rest of the interview here.
September 29, 2011: Commonweal's Thomas Baker reviews Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith.
"The War on Beige"
The search for good resources for adult religious formation is not an easy one. There is the Catechism of the Catholic Church itself, of course, authoritative and imposing, but using it as a text in a parish setting is too much like trying to teach people about baseball with the Baseball Encyclopedia instead of taking them to a game. At another extreme, there are colorful four-page lesson handouts from many publishers, with quick, middle-school-level treatments of many Catholic topics, but studiously avoiding anything that might look too much like doctrine or history. For years, the field has been wide open for someone who could combine actual substantive content with an engaging yet adult-worthy teaching style.
Into this breach comes Catholicism, not just a book but a multimedia extravaganza with ten lavishly produced fifty-minute video programs along with teaching and discussion guides. It is not strictly speaking a catechism: there’s no systematic presentation of the sacraments, morality, Catholic social teaching, or many other staple topics. Instead, it’s a meta-introduction to all that, an attempt to ground us in some creatively presented fundamentals of Scripture and tradition supported by a huge dose of Catholic history and art. Catholicism is apologetics in the grand tradition: triumphant, literate, unashamedly partisan...
Read the rest of the review on Commonwealmagazine.org.
September 26, 2011: The National Review Online featured Kathryn Jean Lopez's piece "Catholicism, No Joke," a review of Father Barron's CATHOLICISM Series.
Read the review on www.nationalreview.com.
September 26, 2011:
Tim Muldoon, scholar, author, and writer for the Catholic portal on Patheos.com, reviewed Fr. Barron's book, Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith. Read his review here:
First, and to the point: this is an excellent book, the new standard to give to the seeker, the RCIA participant, the college student, the non-Catholic spouse, the skeptical friend. It is slender and readable, accessible, creative, and thorough. It is artful. It is the fruit of both an accomplished scholar and a popular writer. I highly recommend it.
As I was reading it an image came to mind. In 1895 the French artist Paul Cézanne produced a still life painting entitled The Basket of Apples. Like any still life, it appears to the viewer first as a picture of something: apples spilled out of a basket onto a table. One is immediately drawn to what the painting is about, its subject. At face value, Barron’s book does something that any number of other books do: present the subject of Catholicism by walking the reader through many of its key elements. There are ten chapters (a good Biblical number) on revelation; the person and teachings of Jesus; God; Mary; Peter and Paul; the Church; the liturgy; saints; prayer; and last things. So at this face value, Barron gives us a very pithy presentation of the Catholic Church’s major doctrines.
But there is something remarkable about Cézanne’s painting, and something remarkable about Barron’s book. Just about any new art student can paint apples on a table, and any blogger can write some ideas he gained by flipping through the Catechism. Cézanne’s painting demands a careful look: the table seems oddly disjointed, as if it were painted from different perspectives. The flashes of light that are the apples resist the structure of photographic realism. Cézanne started with a blank canvas and made very specific choices to paint the way he did; why did he do things this way? Analogously, I asked myself, why did Barron do things this way, rather than (say) just expounding on the Catechism of the Catholic Church? What were these men trying to say, and what were they trying to elicit from us?...
Visit patheos.com for the rest of Mr. Muldoon's comments on the book.
September 25, 2011: Father Barron's commentary on the New York Times Magazine article "The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy" was featured in Catholic New World, the online publication of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Read the commentary here.
September 24, 2011: Kathryn Lopez, coumnist for Townhall.com, reviews Father Barron's CATHOLICISM Series:
"I'd like you to convert Chicago," Father Robert Barron remembers his boss, Francis Cardinal George, archbishop of the Windy City, telling him about six years ago.
The result of that charge will be airing on many PBS stations, starting this week.
Barron, a Chicago priest and professor, has created a remarkable book and TV series called "Catholicism" -- which, in reintroducing a 2,000-year-old tradition, manages to be both elaborate and humble. It's self-conscious as a work of evangelization (complete with available study guides and a prayer card for those who care for such things), yet welcoming to a wide potential audience.
Barron characterizes his effort as a "guided exploration of the Catholic world ... conducting you ever deeper into the mystery of the Incarnation in the hopes that you might be transformed by its power." He makes excellent use of the vibrancy of technology to reintroduce a vocabulary and tradition that has, of late, been too much hindered by a lack of confidence...
Read the entire Townhall.com article here.
September 22, 2011: Senior writer, Tim Drake, of the National Catholic Register interviewed Fr. Robert Barron about the filming of CATHOLICISM. Read his interview below.
Why Father Robert Barron Filmed 'Catholicism'
The Chicago priest’s ambitious series makes its debut on PBS.
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...
Read the entire interview here.
September 22, 2011: Elizabeth Scalia, moderator of The Anchoress blog, managing editor of the Catholic portal on Patheos.com, and columnist for First Things, reviews Fr. Robert Barron's CATHOLICISM.
My husband and I are giving it to our priests and the parish DRE, and we’re not waiting for Christmas!
And I haven’t actually even written my rave review, yet. But while I figure out how to do that, George Weigel has written a rave of his own, this time for the DVD Series!
[PBS'] “Civilization” was the perfect way to finish a serious undergraduate liberal arts education; it brought together ideas, art, architecture and history in a visually compelling synthesis of the history of western culture that respected Catholicism’s role in shaping the West.
Over the next four decades, I wondered whether someone, somewhere, at some point, would do a “Civilization”-like series on Catholicism itself: a Grand Tour of the Catholic world that explored the Church as a culture through its teaching, its art, its music, its architecture—and above all, through the lives it shaped. That has now happened. The result is the most important media initiative in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States.
I have been lucky enough to see the first episode (I am heading into retreat in a few hours and am bringing additional episodes with me, to watch) and I concur. The book is stand-alone splendid, but together with the series (and the study program) we’re talking about a a flint-strike that could spark a conflagration of Catholic renewal and a hunger for adult catechesis that could literally change the world.
That is not an exaggeration...
Read the rest of the article on The Anchoress blog.
Groundbreaking Series on Catholicism to Hit PBS
Father Robert Barron Offers Viewers Expansive Look at the Faith
National Catholic Register's Tim Drake writes:
CHICAGO — Inspired by Kenneth Clark’s 1969 BBC television series Civilization, Father Robert Barron always dreamed of doing something similar to showcase the beauty of the Catholic Church.
More than two years and 12 trips to 16 different countries later, the result is an ambitious 10-part documentary series called Catholicism (CatholicismSeries.com). Parts of the unprecedented documentary will start to air nationwide on PBS at the end of September through the fall.
“This is the most important media project in the history of the Catholic Church in America,” said papal biographer George Weigel. “Catholicism could well become one of the most significant efforts ever to advance what Pope John Paul II called the New Evangelization.”
Beginning Sept. 22, four of the 60-minute episodes will air on PBS in the Maryland market, with later airings on PBS in Chicago and elsewhere beginning Oct. 13; the show will air on EWTN in November.
Utilizing high-definition cinematography, the documentary explores the beauty and the truth of the Catholic faith by journeying with Father Barron to more than 50 locations to illuminate the spiritual and artistic treasures of the Church. Father Barron uses art, architecture, literature, music and all the riches of the Catholic tradition to explain what Catholics believe.
Among the episodes, the series explores a variety of topics: Christ, the mystery of God, Mary, Peter and Paul, the Church, liturgy, the communion of saints, prayer and “The Last Things.” Viewers are brought to the Holy Land, Uganda, Italy, France, Poland and Spain, as well as the streets of Brazil, the Philippines, Mexico, Calcutta and New York City...
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/groundbreaking-series-on-catholicism-to-hit-pbs/#ixzz1YW8mVe3Q
September 20, 2011: In the fall of 1972, a group of us, philosophy majors all, approached our dean of studies, Father Bob Evers, with a request: Under the supervision of a faculty member, could we build a two-credit senior seminar in our last college semester around Kenneth Clark’s BBC series, “Civilization,” which had been shown on American public television. Father Evers agreed, and we had a ball. “Civilization” was the perfect way to finish a serious undergraduate liberal arts education; it brought together ideas, art, architecture and history in a visually compelling synthesis of the history of western culture that respected Catholicism’s role in shaping the West.
Over the next four decades, I wondered whether someone, somewhere, at some point, would do a “Civilization”-like series on Catholicism itself: a Grand Tour of the Catholic world that explored the Church as a culture through its teaching, its art, its music, its architecture—and above all, through the lives it shaped. That has now happened. The result is the most important media initiative in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States.
The man responsible for this feat is Father Robert Barron, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and a faculty member at Mundelein Seminary....
Read Mr. Weigel's column here.
Catholicism Series Premieres Across the Country this Fall
Father Robert Barron will present the story of the Catholic Church on public television.
September 19, 2011: Catholicism, a multi-part documentary series, will air in over 80 public television markets across the country this Fall. The stations will broadcast four of the ten episodes, premiering in the nation's capital next week. Viewers in Washington, DC and Maryland can see Catholicism on Maryland Public Television (MPT) September 22nd and 29th from 8-10 pm EST.
Catholicism illustrates the history and treasures of a global religion shared by more than one billion people around the world. The series, hosted by Father Robert Barron, is filmed in stunning high-definition and spans more than 50 locations in 15 countries.
“Catholicism is fascinating television. This series will be of great interest to viewers who want a better understanding of the impact and meaning this faith continues to have throughout the World,” said Dan Soles, WTTW s Senior Vice President and Chief Television Content Officer. “I am pleased and honored that this production has a home with WTTW and that public television stations around the country will broadcast this important work,” he added....
View the press release here.
September 15, 2011: Father Barron, after having completed a series of speaking engagements in Washington, DC, last week, appeared on EWTN's The World Over with host Raymond Arroyo. On the broadcast, he spoke about the CATHOLICISM Series and fielded questions from the audience relating to a multitude of Catholic issues.
Watch the YouTube video of this interview here.
September 9, 2011: The National Catholic Register online journal featured information on the "Groundbreaking Series on Catholicism to Hit PBS," interviewing the staff of Word on Fire and detailing the "making of" and "mission of" Fr. Robert Barron's CATHOLICISM Series (www.CatholicismSeries.com).
Read more here.
August 25, 2011: Catholic News Agency featured Father Barron's commentary on World Youth Day, 2011, "The Pope's young Army":
I have just completed one of the most extraordinary weeks of my life. For the past eight days, I participated in World Youth Day in Madrid, a gathering of some 1.5 million Catholic young people with Pope Benedict XVI. I met enthusiastic teen and 20-something Catholics from the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden, Nigeria, England, Australia, New Zealand, China, the Philippines, India, Denmark, and many other countries. The universality of the Church has never been, for me anyway, on fuller and more thrilling display. My Word on Fire team and I were especially encouraged to see so concretely the outreach that the Internet and the new media provide. To hear, over and again, and in dozens of different accents, that our videos and podcasts have made a difference in people’s lives was deeply gratifying...
Read the article here.
August 23, 2011: Brandon Vogt, author of The Church and New Media and moderator of the blog, The Thin Veil, reviews Father Robert Barron's book, "Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith":
When defining Catholicism, many first turn to its unique practices and characters--the Mass, the sacraments, Mary, priests, and the Pope. Others point to its intellectual traits--its distinctive apologetics, theology, and philosophy.
In his new book, Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith (Image, hardcover, 304 pages), Fr. Robert Barron explores these typical characteristics but doesn't stop there. He looks through many more lenses to reveal the core of Catholicism.
Barron is not just concerned with what's good and true about the Catholic tradition but also what's beautiful. The Catholic faith is not just a matter of the mind and the soul but of the body and the senses. Therefore if we want to fully understand "the Catholic thing", we need to gaze on art, history, culture, music, literature, and architecture...
Read the review here.
August 23, 2011: Cradio out of Australia features Father Barron's article, "Tiny, Whispering Sound":
I have long loved the cycle of stories in the first book of Kings dealing with the prophet Elijah. In fact, I’ve often told people who are just getting interested in the Scripture to commence with the fascinating, adventurous, and often comical stories concerning this prophet. His name tells us all we need to know about him. “Elijah” is the Anglicization of the Hebrew Eliyahu, which means, “Yahweh is God.” People can be named from what they worship, what they hold to be of highest value. Thus, someone who values her work above all is a “company woman,” and someone who prizes his family above all is a “family man;” someone who seeks pleasure as his highest good is a “good-time Charlie,” etc. Elijah is a Yahweh man, for he worships the God of Israel. Once we know this, we know all we need to know about how he thinks and how he acts and reacts. Because he is a Yahweh man, he stands athwart the idolatry of King Ahab; because he is a Yahweh man, he is forced to flee the persecution of Queen Jezebel; because he is a Yahweh man, he seeks refuge on Horeb, the mountain of God...
August 21, 2011: The Catholic Post out of Peoria, Illinois, featured an article about Fr. Barron and CATHOLICISM: "Fr. Barron 'shows off' Catholic faith in 10-part documentary"-- By Tom Dermody
Catholicism is a beautiful religion “meant to be shown off,” says Father Robert Barron.
This fall, the Chicago priest’s new 10-part video documentary called “Catholicism” will offer a new way for parishes and individuals to not only show off their faith, but to better learn and share it
.
Clergy and religious educators in the Diocese of Peoria had opportunities to preview several episodes of the series when Father Barron visited as a keynote speaker for this month’s Summer Institute.
“I hope (viewers) get a sense of the tip of the iceberg of the wealth of Catholic tradition,” said Father Barron -- writer and host of the documentary -- to a group of priests, deacons, and seminarians who gathered at the Spalding Pastoral Center on June 9, the eve of the two-day institute...
Read the article in Peoria, Illinois' Diocesan newspaper, "The Catholic Post."
August 18, 2011: Father Barron's World Youth Day "Vocations" presentation featured on Catholic News Service.
"World Youth Day vocations fair helps young people put God first"
MADRID (CNS) -- As pilgrim Mark Horn mingled among hundreds of young people in an auditorium full of priests and women and men religious, the words he had just heard from Father Robert J. Barron cascaded through his mind.
It is through God that true happiness can be found, Father Barron told Horn and an auditorium full of English-speaking pilgrims during a vocations fair sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at St. Francis Borgia Parish in Madrid Aug. 17, part of World Youth Day activities.
Father Barron, who runs the Chicago-based Word on Fire ministry, was "spot on," said the 24-year-old Horn of the Diocese of Rapid City, S.D.
"I thought the talk was what a lot of young people need to hear," Horn said. "There's no illusions. The way to happiness ultimately is about God and not me and does require sacrifice...."
Read the article here.
August 9, 2011: Catholic News Agency features Fr. Barron's article, "The acts we perform, the people we become":
From the 1950’s through the late 1970’s Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) was a professor of moral philosophy at the Catholic University of Lublin in Poland, specializing in sexual ethics and what we call today “marriage and family life.” He produced two important books touching on these matters, The Acting Person, a rigorously philosophical exploration of Christian anthropology, and Love and Responsibility, a much more accessible analysis of love, sex, and marriage. These texts provided the foundation for the richly textured teaching of Pope John Paul II that now goes by the name “theology of the body.” As was evident throughout his papacy, John Paul had a deep devotion to young people, and he wanted them to see the teaching of the church in regard to sex, not as a burden, but as an invitation to fuller life. In the context of this brief article, I would like to develop just one insight from John Paul’s rich magisterium on sex and marriage, for I share the perennial concern of older people that too many young people are treating sex in a morally casual way...
Read the article here.
August 8, 2011: Father Barron was recently interviewed by Kris McGregor, host of the popular podcast "Discerning Hearts" and the radio program "Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor," regarding the upcoming release of his book, Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith.
"Fr. Robert Barron's "Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith" is wonderful. A beautiful exploration of the Roman Catholic faith, and it's gift to the world and to culture. From randomhouse.com: What is the Catholicism? A 2,000 living tradition? A worldview? A way of life? A relationship? A mystery? In Catholicism Father Robert Barron examines all these questions and more, seeking to capture the body, heart and mind of the Catholic faith."
August 1, 2011: A comprehensive review of Fr. Barron's CATHOLICISM series was posted by Brad Miner on The Catholic Thing today.
Read the review here:
I have an “uncorrected proof” of the book and a “rough-cut” of the DVD series; both are titled Catholicism, but they have different subtitles: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith and The Journey of a Lifetime. Take your pick; each is true.
The chapters of the book (Doubleday, $18.47) follow – and in some cases amplify – the episodes in the video series. In its ten chapters, the book includes over 100 images of, as author Robert E. Barron aptly describes it in his introduction, “The Catholic Thing.”The ten one-hour DVD episodes ($149.95), narrated by Fr. Barron, have approximately a zillion images: all of them moving – and you can take that in several senses of the word: active, poignant, stirring.
So what is this thing, Catholicism (speaking now principally of the DVDs)? Simply the most vivid catechism ever created; a high-def illustrated manuscript for the twenty-first century; the best-ever film about the Catholic faith.
The early episodes could have been titled Mere Catholicism. Fr. Barron starts with Jesus (“Yahweh moving among his people”), and what he says about the Lord would find concert with most Christians. This, for instance, with regard to the Incarnation:
The church fathers never tired of repeating this phrase . . .Deus fit homo ut fieret Deus (God became human so that humans might become God). . . . We are called not simply to moral perfection or artistic self-expression or economic liberation but to what the Eastern fathers called theosis, transformation into God.
He often bolsters his presentation with quotes from Protestant authors: C.S. Lewis, N.T. Wright, and Paul Tillich among them. You get no histrionic preaching from Fr. Barron, which is not to say his narration isn’t enlivened by passion for Jesus Christ. It is, but he mostly lets Jesus, the saints, the Church, and the scenery illumine the emotional power of Catholicism. All films (and some books) are collaborative endeavors, and director Matt Leonard, cinematographer John Cummings, and composer Steve Mullen have created a stunningly lyrical audio-visual backdrop to the words of the globetrotting Fr. Barron.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched a Catholic film or TV program and commented, “Surely we can do better than this!” Well, Catholicism is better than I ever imagined such a film could be – a feast for eye and ear and soul...
Read the entire The Catholic Thing review here.
July 14, 2011: Area Catholics and members of all faith traditions are invited to deepen their understanding of the gift of Eucharist and the Catholic faith at an all day event featuring Fr. Robert Barron. Mayslake Ministries, of Lombard, IL, is hosting its fall symposium, on October 1 from 9am to 3pm at the beautiful Drury Lane ballroom in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.
Get more information here.
July 1, 2011: The website for the Catholic News Agency, CNA, featured Father Barron's reflection on the Eucharist, which he wrote as a result of his recent experience at the Archdiocese of Atlanta's Eucharistic Conference.
Read the article here.
June 26, 2011: Chicago Tribune's The Seeker Blog featured Father Barron's recent commentary about the controversy surrounding the removal of "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance during NBC's coverage of the U.S. Open.
The article, entitled, "US should be a nation under God that keeps the Sabbath," can be found here.
June 26, 2011: The Catholic Post, website of the Archdiocese of Peoria, IL, featured an article about Father Barron and Word on fire entitled, "Fr. Barron 'shows off' Catholic faith in 10-part documentary series."
Read the article here.
June 23, 2011: The St. Louis Review, online journal of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, featured an article on Father Barron entitled, "Evangelizing priest uses many tools to reach out."
Read the article here.
June 17, 2011: Father Barron's recent article, "Why so many Atheists on the CNN Belief Blog?" was featured on the website, RealClearReligion.com.
Read the article here.
June 8, 2011: Father Barron's review of Woody Allen's recent film, Midnight in Paris, was featured on the website of U.S. Catholic.
Read the review here.
May 26, 2011: Catholic Education Resource Center recently featured Father Barron's article on "The Indecipherable Writings of Thomas' Aquinas."
Visit the CERC website and view the article here.
May 26, 2011: Father Barron's review of Terrence Malick's new film, "The Tree of Life," was featured on Chicago Tribune's "The Seeker" Blog.
Read the review here.
May 23, 3011: Father Barron's article, "A Great Time to Be a Priest," was featured on the website of Irish American News.
Read the article here.
May 16, 2011: "Ambitious series on Catholicism to put faith in global perspective"-- Father Robert Barron's CATHOLICISM Series featured on Robert Feder's Time Out Chicago blog:
"Matters of faith are central to the lives of millions every day, but television rarely touches on them. If religion gets covered at all, it usually becomes distorted in the context of politics, scandal or fanaticism. So when a notable exception comes along, it’s worth praising.
A prominent Chicago area priest and a veteran producer have teamed up to create a groundbreaking documentary series about the history and the impact of the Catholic faith worldwide to debut on public television stations this fall.
The first four episodes of Catholicism will premiere in October on Window to the World Communications’ WTTW-Channel 11, which will distribute them to stations nationwide. Altogether, it’s planned as a 10-part DVD series..."
Read the blog post here.
CHICAGO- May 5, 2011: The story of the Catholic Church to be presented on public television this fall
WTTW, Chicago’s premier public television station, announced that it will premiere and distribute four episodes of Catholicism – a multi-part documentary series for public television – in October 2011 to public television stations nationwide. This epic television production illustrates the history and treasures of a global religion shared by more than one billion people around the world. The series is filmed in stunning high-definition and spans more than 50 locations in 15 countries.
Read the entire Press Release here.
May 2, 2011: Making my way from my hotel near the Castel Sant’Angelo to the media platform at the foot of the Via della Conciliazione, where I was to do some color commentary for television, I was almost crushed by the crowds surging to the beatification ceremony for Pope John II. Through a combination of my Roman collar, the waving of my media badge and lots of prayers, I made it to my colleagues on the platform. What struck me as I pushed through the throng of humanity was that I heard pilgrims speaking Italian, English, French, German, Swahili, Spanish, Portuguese and, of course, Polish...
Read the Chicago Sun-Times article here.
May 1, 2011: As many of the newsers attending this year’s White House correspondents dinner — and after parties — were calling it a night, in Rome, the cable news networks were just getting going, covering the Mass for the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Chris Jansing (with analysts George Weigel and Fr. Robert Barron), who’d anchored coverage of the Royal Wedding Friday and flew to Rome yesterday, began MSNBC’s coverage just before 4am ET.
Read the full story here.
May 1, 2011: For the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, nearly 3,000,000 people flooded into Rome, effectively doubling the city’s population. Some estimates are that crowds of that magnitude will return to the Eternal City Sunday to celebrate John Paul’s beatification. These big numbers are only fitting for the man who was seen by more people than any other person in history and who gathered the largest crowd ever assembled at World Youth Day in Manila. John Paul wanted to reach out to the world, and so it’s appropriate that the world is coming to witness his beatification.
Read the Chicago Sun-Times article here.
April 29, 2011: Father Barron is reporting from Rome on the beatification of Pope John Paul II for the Chicago Sun-Times.
Read his first article here, "Blessed John Paul II: Why are we celebrating?"
April 27, 2011: Renowned theologian, Father Robert Barron, will offer commentary on all NBC Network News programming during Pope John Paul II’s beatification on May 1. Barron was selected for his in-depth knowledge of Pope John Paul II and will be in Rome covering the event.
On May 1, Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate the Solemn Mass and Beatification before hundreds of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square and for millions of television viewers around the world. This is the first time a pope has beatified his immediate predecessor.
Read the Press Release here.
April 9, 2011: Father Barron, during his stay in Rome this week, was interviewed by Vatican Radio.
Listen to the program here.
March 30, 2011: Father Barron's review of the recently released film, "Of Gods and Men," was featured on the National Catholic Register website. The article, entitled "Gods, Powers, and Principalities," can be viewed here.
March 25, 2011: Father Barron's article, "What does the Catholic just war teaching say about Libya?" was featured in the Washington Post's "Guest Voices" column.
Read the article here.
March 22, 2011: Father Barron's article regarding the motto on our nation's coins, paper money, and government buildings, entitled "In God We Should Trust," was featured on Chicago Tribune's "The Seeker" blog.
Read it here.
March 16, 2011: Father Barron was a keynote presenter at the 2011 Living the Catholic Faith Conference in Denver, Colorado. Read the highlights from the event, as well as a reference to Father Barron in the keynote address given by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, in the Denver Catholic Register.
March 13, 2011: Father Barron's article, "Outlawing the Death Penalty in Illinois," was featured on Chicago Tribune's "The Seeker" blog.
Read it here.
March 8, 2011: Father Barron's response to CNN's recent feature of the controversial "historical Jesus" scholar, John Dominic Crossan, was published on the CNN Belief Blog.
Read it here.
February 10, 2011: Father Barron's commentary on the new iPhone App that prepares Catholics for the sacrament of Reconciliation was featured on Chicago Tribune's The Seeker blog.
Read the blog post here.
January 19, 2011: Described as “one of the Catholic Church’s best messengers,” Father Robert Barron hopes to light attendees on fire with the word of God at the Living the Catholic Faith Conference set for March 11-12.
For details on this conference, click here to visit the website of the Archdiocese of Denver.
January 25, 2011: On the 25th of January, the church celebrates the great feast of the conversion of St. Paul, and this celebration provides the occasion for thinking about who we are as followers of Jesus Christ. As I have often complained, most of us Christians in the West more or less follow the protocol of the secular society, which dictates that religion is an essentially private matter, something that individuals can cultivate for their own personal edification—but decidedly not something that ought to show up in the public arena...
To read the rest of the article, please visit Parishworld.net.
January 24, 2011: Father Barron's commentary on Abortion, the "most compelling moral issue of our time," was featured on Chicago Tribune's "The Seeker" blog.
Read the blog post here.
January 18, 2011: NECEDAH, Wis.-- Catholic Word Publisher Group announced today it has added world-renowned evangelist Fr. Robert Barron and his Word On Fire Catholic Ministries to its growing roster of powerhouse members. Word On Fire is a global media organization that supports Catholic evangelical preaching, particularly that of Fr. Barron.
Read the article here.
January 13, 2011: The sisters talk with Father Barron about WWJD? What would Jesus do given today’s digital technology and media? Does Scripture give us any clues on why or how we might use digital media for the sake of the Gospel? We discuss these topics and more on this episode of Digital Ministry.
Listen to the podcast here.
December 1, 2010: Washington Post features article: "Pope Benedict: what the media left out" by Rev. Robert Barron
Over a period of about 15 years, in the 1990's and early 2000's, the German journalist Peter Seewald conducted a number of interviews with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, then the prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. The edited conversations appeared as two rather lengthy books, The Salt of the Earth and God and the World. Seewald's pointed questions dealt with fundamental matters--God, creation, Incarnation, redemption, sin and grace--and Ratzinger's answers--clear, succinct, illuminating--were marvels of the teacher's art. Perhaps the most extraordinary fruit of these encounters was Seewald's conversion from an unfocused agnosticism to a full embrace of the Catholic faith...
Read the entire article here.
November 24, 2010: Father Barron's commentary on Pope Benedict XVI's interview with Peter Seewald in his new book, Light of the World, was featured on Chicago Tribune's "The Seeker" blog.
Read the blog post here.
November 18, 2010: Father Robert Barron is a well-known author and public speaker who has pioneered new efforts in the Catholic Church's outreach with a global media ministry: He's gained a worldwide audience through his website: wordonfire.org. His podcasts and blogs range from topics on movies and books to questions of Catholicism in today's world...
Read the entire report and watch the news video
here.
November 16, 2010: A new premier Catholic study program, CATHOLICISM, for parishes across the country and throughout the world is being introduced tonight at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore.
Answering the call for New Evangelization, this multi-media educational program reveals the truth, beauty and richness of the Faith in an unprecedented way.
With creator and host Father Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire Ministries, participants will learn what Catholics believe and why by exploring the art, architecture, literature, music, and all the riches of the Catholic tradition. Filmed in 50 locations throughout 15 countries, CATHOLICISM is on-location and in the streets, illustrating the splendor of the global Church-- all in original, high-definition cinematography...
Archbishop Timothy Dolan of the Diocese of New York says he is thrilled to hear that Father Barron is going to be on WGN on Sunday mornings, beginning October 3rd, 2010.
"Father Bob Barron, my good friend, reminds me of Archbishop Sheen." says Archbishop Dolan. "We were so proud of Fulton Sheen because he embodied the truth, the beauty, the light, the warmth of Catholicism. He was able to present the timeless truths of our beloved Catholic faith in a very timely manner and able to tie in art, architecture, news, humor, sports and you name it - to bring that to bear in the Gospel, and the teaching of Jesus and his Church. He did it in a dynamite way. I think we've got a winner in Fr. Bob Barron, he speaks with that same eloquence and that same pizazz and same conviction."
Barron is a professor at University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary and is one of the world's most innovative teachers of Catholicism. His global media ministry called "Word on Fire" has a simple but revolutionary mission - to educate and engage the culture.
“The faith of the Church is our strength,” says Barron. “Our program will strive to show viewers the richness of the Catholic faith and how it is a treasure to be shared now and with future generations. The faith imbues our life with meaning and imparts to all a renewed sense of purpose.”
Father Robert Barron is a sought-after speaker on the spiritual life. He has published numerous books, essays and DVDs. Word on Fire, a non-profit organization, has attracted millions of viewers and listeners to its web site www.WordOnFire.org and its programs on other media outlets.
Please tune in to WGN America nationally Sunday mornings at 9:30 am Eastern/8:30 am Central for “Word on Fire with Father Robert Barron“(the WGN Chicago broadcast airs at 9:30 am central). Funds for the program have been raised through private donations.
Media inquiries, contact Nanette Noffsinger at nanetten(at)aol(dot)com or 615-776-4230.
John Henry Newman, a vibrant 19th century Catholic convert and eventual Cardinal, wrote some of Catholicism’s most masterful prose, which still serves to inspire the Church today. To honor Newman’s beatification on September 19, Word On Fire Catholic Ministries, led by Father Robert Barron, is introducing John Henry Newman-- A Prophet for Our Time. This new CD set features Fr. Barron’s insight on three of Newman's most compelling works. Fr. Barron believes Newman is still “relevant, inspirational and a profound prophetic voice” for all who seek a greater understanding of the philosophy and theology of the Church.
In a bold move to reach Catholics and those searching for Christ in their lives, Father Robert Barron begins broadcasting a weekly national television program on October 3rd. “Word on Fire with Father Barron” will appear on WGN America Sundays at 8:30 am Central.
SKOKIE, Illinois, JUNE 7, 2010 (Zenit.org <http://www.zenit.org> ).- In the 24 years that Father Robert Barron has been a priest, he has witnessed great advances and profound lows in the priesthood.
As one of the leading Catholic evangelical priests, Father Barron uses today's technology to its fullest extent to bring God's word to the world. His Web site, WordOnFire.org <http://www.wordonfire.org/> , his books, his television and radio programs and his many You-Tube Videos and DVD's have captured the attention of millions worldwide.
He is a highly sought after speaker and serves as the Francis Cardinal George Chair of Faith and Culture at University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois.
Father Barron has dedicated his life to sharing his faith and in this interview with ZENIT he offers words of wisdom and support to those struggling to understand the role of the priest today amidst such hardship and controversy...
Read more.
Fr. Barron's review of the Coen Brothers movie,
A Serious Man is featured on iiBloom.com. You may view it on
iibloom.com, or read and comment on the piece here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
Fr. Robert Barron and Word On Fire are featured in the
Legatus Magazine article, "20 years into the New Evangelization". Read the article on
legatusmagazine.org, or read and comment on the article on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
This is a list of TV stations that are broadcasting various programs by Fr. Robert Barron and Word On Fire.
Click here to see the list for March.
Fr. Barron's explains in
National Catholic Register how priests should use to internet to evangelize. Read the article on
ncregister.com, or read and comment on the article here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
Fr. Barron's video commentary on the film, "The Book of Eli", was listed as a "favorite Catholic viral video" by Tim Drake of
National Catholic Register. You can view it on
ncregister.com, or view and comment on the piece here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
This is a list of TV stations that are broadcasting various programs by Fr. Robert Barron and Word On Fire.
Click here to see the list for February.
Fr. Robert Barron filmed Colleen Carroll Campbell's EWTN show, "Faith and Culture" in St. Louis on February 11. Air date will be sometime in Spring.
Click here to see a photo from the taping.
Fr. Barron was interviewed by The Fresno Bee about Social Media etiquette. You can view it on
FresnoBee.com or view and comment on the article here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
"All Tech Considered", NPR's tech blog, recommends viewing WordOnFire.org in their post about the Pope urging priest to blog. You can view it on
NPR.org or view and comment on the piece here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
Fr. Barron was interviewed for Salt and Light TV, Canada's Catholic "Channel of Hope". You can view his appearance from Tuesday, January 26 by
clicking here. He is featured at the 1:55 mark.
Fr. Barron will be the guest on
EWTN Live, Wednesday, December 9 at 8pm Eastern. Encore showings will air Thursday, December 10 at 1am and 9am (eastern), and Sunday, December 13 at 4am. For more information on EWTN, you can
Click Here. To find out how to watch it live,
Click Here.
Fr. Barron's video commentary on Michael Moore's film, "Capitalism: A Love Story", is featured on Insight Scoop, Ignatius Press' blog. You may view it on
Insightscoop.typepad.com or view and comment on the piece here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
Fr. Barron's video commentary on vampires is featured on Insight Scoop, Ignatius Press' blog. You may view it on
Insightscoop.typepad.com or view and comment on the piece here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
Fr. Barron's video commentary on vampires is featured on the Creative Minority Report website. You can view it on
CreativeMinorityReport.com or view and comment on the piece here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
Fr. Barron's video commentary on the Vatican's investigation of Women Religious on Insight Scoop, Ignatius Press' blog. You may view it on
Insightscoop.typepad.com or view and comment on the piece here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
It was a Monday morning after a long holiday weekend. I was preparing for my daily radio program and noticed something interesting that provided a great deal of encouragement just when I needed it. As I studied the line-up of guests on this particular day there was a certain theme that was coming through that pertained to positive use of new media: the Internet, podcasting, video sites, social gathering sites, etc.
America's leading priest online tells Andrew M. Brown that Catholics must do more to show the beauty of the faith.
Fr. Barron's video commentary on Protestantism and Authority featured on Insight Scoop, Ignatius Press' blog. You may view it on
Insightscoop.typepad.com or view and comment on the piece here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
Fr. Barron's video commentary on religion is featured on Insight Scoop, Ignatius Press' blog. You may view it on
Insightscoop.typepad.com or view and comment on the piece here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
Whether it's on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, television, or even over the plain old radio airwaves, Rev. Robert Barron is always willing to make a case for God.
Fr. Barron's video commentary on Sen. Edward Kennedy is featured on Mark Shea's blog and on Ignatius Press' blog. You may view the commentary by clicking on
MarkSheablogspot.com or
InsightScoop.typepad.com.
Fr. Barron's review of "District 9" is featured on America, The National Catholic Weekly website. You may read it on
AmericaMagazine.org or read and comment on the piece here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
Fr. Barron's video commentary on Sen. Edward Kennedy is featured on the Creative Minority Report website. You may view it on
creativeminorityreport.com or view and comment on the piece here on Word On Fire by
Clicking Here.
Fr. Barron's commentary:
America Needs You, Thomas Aquinas is featured in the Chicago Daily Observer. You may view it on
cdobs.com or read and comment on the piece here on Word on Fire by
Clicking Here.
All individuals and institutions are, to some degree, marked by inconsistency. Not all of our ducks -- conceptual and behavioral -- are ever quite in a row. But sometimes, an inconsistency is so sharp, so jarring, that it crosses the line into hypocrisy.
View the Full Article Here as it will appear.
It’s not often that a priest gets to one-up the pope, but Father Robert Barron inadvertently did by founding Word on Fire, a popular evangelical website, ten years ago.
While the Holy Father just recently started taking advantage of such Internet-based technology as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube via his own website, www.pope2you.net, Father Barron had the foresight to see the benefits of reaching out to greater numbers of Catholics through the world wide web a decade earlier.
Fr. Barron's commentary on "The Stoning of Soraya M." speaks to the brilliant film and the contemporary horrors that occur in today's religious realm.
See Feature on AmericaMagazine.org
Read and comment on complete article as written by Fr. Barron Here.
Fr. Barron's Article Youtube Heresies, On today's virtual Areopagus will be featured in the May 25, 2009 issue of America | The National Catholic Weekly.
View the Full Article here as it will appear.
Father Barron's commentary on "Angels and Demons" was noted on The Ignatius Press Blog.
Fr. Barron's Commentary:
A case for celibacy for priests is featured on CNN.COM. You may view it on
CNN.COM or read and comment on the piece here on Word on Fire by
Clicking Here.
Father Robert Barron's 10-part documentary aims to reveal power and truth of the faith using art, architecture, literature and music
Father Robert Barron likes to dream big. Consider the documentary series on the Catholic faith he is working on.
The budget is big -- $2.5 million. The backdrops for filming locations are big -- New York City; Kraków, Poland; Mexico City; Rome; and Jerusalem, just to name a few. The goal for the series? It's really big.
"My aim is to convert the world to Catholicism," said Father Barron, who is a priest from the Archdiocese of Chicago. "I say that only half-facetiously."
Father Barron's Commentary has been posted on The American Orthodox Institute (AOI) Blog
WOF Survey Trends In US Religion — Who are the “Nones”?
A blog post about The Catholicism Project made on the Catholic Media Review website.
Anyone who reads about the Catholic Church in the mainstream media knows that we are in serious need of a public relations expert. God knows this, and He has a plan. Enter Fr Robert Barron...
Father Robert Barron Tackles ‘The Catholicism Project’
Illinois priest Father Robert Barron calls his current undertaking “The Catholicism Project,” and with a name like that, you know it’s got to have some heft and depth. Father Barron’s monumental made-for-TV series covers the faith in all its 2,000-plus years.
Read More>>
Fr. Barron's article A Cover Up at Georgetown has been featured on the Chicago Daily Observer.
Fr. Barron's lecture from Christendom College is noted on The Ignatius Press Blog.
“All my life I’ve heard spirited advocacy for the dialogue between the Church and the wider culture, but this call has come, almost exclusively, from the Church and not from the culture,” Fr. Robert Barron said in his talk entitled “From Correlation to Assimilation: A New Model for the Church-Culture Dialogue” given to the students and faculty of Christendom College on April 20.
Celebrated speaker on the spiritual life Fr. Robert Barron will deliver a lecture entitled Dialogue between Church and Culture: Moving from Accommodation to Assimilation at Christendom College on Monday, April 20, 2009, at 6:30 p.m.
Fr. Barron is interviewed about the Catholicism Project by Pete from ChristLife.
Father Barron was a speaker at the College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE) on Saturday March 28, for the 17th Annual Spirituality Convocation, sponsored by the Center for Theological and Spiritual Development (Center).
Click Here to view the article on CatholicExchange.com
Fr. Roderick comments on Fr. Barrons YouTube commentary on Bill Maher's "Religulous".
Fr. Barron's Article Playing at Atheism has been featured on CatholicExchange.com.
Click Here to view the article on CatholicExchange.com
Abigail Woodwarth, our site member from LA, California, has recently set off for Europe. You can look forward to reading posts about all the interesting places she is going to visit.
We have just launched our new community site intended to become a virtual meeting point for travellers from all around the world.
We are glad to announce that our user base has already grown to the size of ten users.