Bishop Robert Barron recently appeared on the Tucker Carlson Show, in a wide-ranging discussion that covered prayer, evolution, AI, the New Atheist Movement, and about a dozen more topics. Naturally, the Catholic world was excited by a Catholic bishop—and one of our most well-spoken—appearing in front of such a large, and mostly non-Catholic, audience. How would he do? What would he say?
I was not immune from the excitement, but I admit I was nervous as well. You see, I’ve never been a Bishop Barron fanboy. I’ve even been a critic at times. In my book Deadly Indifference I detail my disappointment with Barron’s appearance on the Ben Shapiro Show in 2018. When asked point-blank by the Jewish Shapiro if he should become Catholic, Barron—the de facto Chief Evangelist of the Catholic Church in America—hedged and gave what I thought was a weak, ambiguous answer. I pointed it out as a tremendous missed opportunity, and I was worried something similar would happen on Carlson’s show.
That wasn’t my only concern. I think Barron downplays the problems in the Church significantly and unreasonably exalts Vatican II. Further, while I believe that Barron is orthodox in his beliefs, he skirts the line far too closely when it comes to the salvation of all souls, a tendency he shares with his hero Hans Urs von Balthasar. In an age when most people think everyone except Hitler goes to heaven and so there’s no point in following moral rules or the Church’s teachings in general, I don’t think it’s helpful to have a popular bishop speak as if he agrees with that sentiment.
Because of my willingness to publicly criticize Bishop Barron, I’ve often heard from his legions of supporters with messages that range from constructive criticism to outright attacks. I even had an employee of Barron’s reach out to me directly, lamenting that I’d dare “attack” the Great Bishop.
Yet through all my criticisms I’ve never doubted that he is one of our best bishops. In fact, it’s not particularly close—he’s clearly in the top 1% of bishops. I realize that the competition isn’t exactly fierce these days, yet his passion for souls is obvious, as is his willingness to speak out against the excesses and errors of our culture. Over the years I’ve encountered countless Catholics positively impacted by him, and it would be foolish to pretend otherwise. I even know a traditional religious sister who converted after listening to his works. Not many bishops, let alone many Catholics, can say they’ve brought more souls into a deeper relationship with Christ in his Catholic Church than Bishop Barron.
My criticisms of him, in fact, have been based in large part on my overall positive assessment of him. A sports fan is far more critical of the star player who makes an error than of the benchwarmer when he gets in the game and doesn’t produce. Much more is expected of the star player. And for better or worse, Bishop Barron is clearly one of our star players.
I’ve noticed in recent years that Barron has gotten more outspoken, and I wonder if it’s just because he has his own diocese now, instead of being an auxiliary who has to answer to an archbishop. I’m guessing the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo will make his voice even stronger. So in spite of my past criticisms, I was hopeful regarding what the bishop would say on one of the most popular and influential podcasts in the world today.
