Robert Barron, to my mind, is the quintessential poster boy for the so-called “New Evangelization.” He has all the right qualifications:
He is a camera-ready media creation with practically nothing of substance to offer beyond sugar-coated platitudes packaged in Catholic language. He is an ecumenist who is well-versed in the craft of religious diplomacy. He is an erudite apologist, not for the Faith that comes to us from the Apostles, but rather, and almost exclusively, for the Crap that comes to us from the Council. He is an Ultramontanist papal fanboy; ever at the ready to cheer the pope’s every last word and deed no matter how outrageous they may be. And, just as an added bonus, as of last September, he’s now commonly addressed as “His Excellency.”
In his latest Zenit article, Barron writes in support of the Bergoglian Occupation:
The whole Christian world has watched with fascination as Pope Francis, over the past several months, has reached out to evangelicals. Who can forget the mesmerizing iPhone video, filmed by the Pope’s (late) friend Bishop Tony Palmer … What I found particularly moving was the remarkable reaction of the evangelical audience after they had taken in the video: a real prayer in the Spirit.
Correction: The authentic Christian world, aka Catholic world, isn’t gazing upon this pontificate with anything other than sheer horror.
That said, I concur on at least one point. Who can forget that infamous iPhone video, indeed? This is the same video wherein Pope Francis addressed the make-believe cleric Tony Palmer as his “brother bishop.”
At the time, this upset me. In hindsight, however, I am struck by just how fitting these words truly were given that Francis behaves far more like a protestant layman pretending to be a bishop than an actual Apostle.
And guess what?
So does Robert Barron.
Take a look at the “remarkable reaction of the evangelical audience” that he considers “a real prayer in the Spirit.”
Bishop Bobby Barron, shining star of the “new evangelization,” found this demonic display of chattering heretics “particularly moving.”
As if he hasn’t embarrassed himself quite enough, Bishop Bobby gushes:
And who could forget the high-five – reportedly the first of Pope Francis’s life – exchanged with Pastor James Robison, after the Pope insisted that a living relationship with Jesus stands at the heart of the Christian reality?
This is just pathetic. Barron should just trade-in his bishopy business suit (as well as his cardigan and button down) for a cheerleading skirt and be done with it.
The cheering, however, has only just begun. He goes on:
Many Catholics were surprised when the newly-elected Pope Francis asked the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray for him, but evangelicals from Argentina weren’t taken aback, for they had witnessed something very similar. In June of 2006, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was attending a meeting of evangelical pastors in Buenos Aires, and after he had spoken to them, he knelt down on the stage and asked them to pray for him and to bless him.
Is there anything Jorge Bergoglio has ever done over which Bobby Barron isn’t willing to fawn like a teenaged girl at a Justin Bieber concert?
Obviously not. He probably thought it was even groovier still when Francis bowed his head for Justin Welby’s blessing.
Having cheered his little heart out for “fascinating” Francis, Barron wades into deeper waters:
“But does his outreach to evangelicals go beyond the merely symbolic? Is it grounded in more substantial theological commitments? I would argue the affirmative and to do so on the basis of Francis’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel).
Well, we can at least give Barron credit for not pretending to base his examination of the current pontificate on Catholic theological commitments, but rather on the ravings recorded in Evangelii Gaudium – about which Cardinal Burke once hilariously stated:
To me, it’s a distinct kind of document, and I haven’t quite figured out in my mind exactly how to describe it. But I would not think that it was intended to be part of papal magisterium. At least that’s my impression of it.
Bishop Bobby takes Francis’ 53,000 word tome a bit more seriously, and clearly he wants us to make the same terrible mistake, saying:
In paragraph seven of Evangelii Gaudium, Francis says, “I never tire of repeating those words of Benedict XVI which take us to the very heart of the Gospel: ‘Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.’”
There is much more in Barron’s article to turn the Catholic stomach, and invite you to read the rest of it there, especially if you are struggling to keep your New Year’s diet resolution. At this, I’m going to jump off so we can focus on the excerpt that Barron provided from Evangelii Gaudium.
If we pay close attention, what we will find is that the words of Benedict XVI quoted therein (taken from the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est) don’t really take us to the “heart of the Gospel” as much as they take us to the heart of the present pontificate.
In truth, being a Christian is not best described as the result of an “encounter” with Christ. Much less is it the fruit of an “encounter” with an event; not even an event as profound as the Resurrection. That which “gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” is not simply the encounter, but rather Baptism, conversion and persistence in communion.
One need only spend five minutes in the Gospels to recognize that there were many who had an encounter with Our Blessed Lord, in the flesh, only to reject Him; their lives unchanged save for the condemnation they invited in doing so.
The first that come to mind, of course, are the Pharisees who demanded His death, but more can be discovered relevant to the present situation by considering the wealthy young man who asked of Jesus, “What good deed shall I do that I may have life everlasting?” (cf Matthew 19)
After insisting that he has kept the commandments since his youth, the young man let on that he knew in his heart that something was still missing as he asked further still, “What is yet wanting to me?”
At this, the Lord who commands us, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” replied:
“If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, we are told, “he went away sad: for he had great possessions.”
In this, not only do we see that “encounter” alone doesn’t “give life a new horizon,” we also discover that the young man suffered from an error of presumption that is rather common in our day; he believed that if only he performed enough good deeds he would attain to life everlasting.
Our Lord, however, challenged the young man and his presumptions, telling him not only to “give to the poor,” but most importantly, to “come, follow me.”
And what does it mean to follow Christ?
The Faith that comes to us from the Apostles is crystal clear on this point:
It means dying with Him and rising with Him in the waters of Baptism, thus becoming members of His Mystical Body the Church – the Holy Catholic Church – where one does not merely “encounter” Christ, but rather enters into communion with Him, and it is here where we must persist, carrying our cross with Him, day in and day out, aided by the grace of the Sacraments unto the very finish.
While one might fairly give Benedict the benefit of any doubt in this respect, Francis is another story.
All indications are that the reason he “never tires of repeating” his predecessor’s words is because he is Hell bent on leveraging them in furtherance of his own gospel; one that supplants the mission given to the Church by Christ with a man-centered effort to create a “culture of encounter.”
The false gospel according to Francis suffers from the same defect of presumption that we find in the rich young man; it reduces the Christian life to little more than a scorecard of good deeds quite unrelated to the Catholic faith.
Francis has been making this clear for some time now:
Do you need to convince the other to become Catholic? No, no, no! Go out and meet him, he is your brother. This is enough. Go out and help him and Jesus will do the rest.
With every passing day it is becoming more obvious: Pope Francis labors not in service to the one true faith, but rather in service to the false religion of “encounter” wherein “good deeds” serve as creed, rite and sacrament alike.
Just two months following the conclave, Francis said in a Santa Marta homily:
We all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.
So, how does Francis justify supplanting the Lord’s command to baptize and to teach with a program that strives for nothing more than to build an earthbound community?
Simple. He told us in the preceding sentences of the selfsame homily:
The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class! We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all!
And so it is that it matters not one iota to Pope Francis, or to the “new evangelists” who applaud his every last move, whether or not one be Catholic or “Evangelical,” or even Muslim, Buddhist or Jew.
Redemption is a done deal for all. As for availing oneself of the fruits of the Redemption? They are at once encountered, received and dispersed – by human hands alone – simply in the performance of good deeds.
This is why there is no room for doctrine in the church-of-man over which Francis reigns, and Robert Barron, his newly minted “brother bishop,” is right there with him, writing in his Zenit article:
[Pope Francis] knows that if Catholicism leads with its doctrines, it will devolve into an intellectual debating society and that if it leads with its moral teaching, it will appear, especially in our postmodern cultural context, fussy and puritanical.
It should lead today as it led 2,000 years ago, with the stunning news that Jesus Christ is the Lord, and the joy of that proclamation should be as evident now as it was then.
Right… as if the Apostles simply ignored the Lord’s command to baptize and to teach; they must have been martyred for exuding too much joy.
Oh well, at this, let us give thanks for the solitary benefit of this dreadful pontificate:
With every passing day it becomes easier and easier to distinguish the fakers from the faithful, and make no mistake about it, Bishop Bobby Barron, poster boy of the “new evangelization,” is a faker.
Sadly, modernism causes a certain disorientation. It’s like an illness (Pope Francis suffers from an extreme form of it). Bishop Barron is just one of many who suffer from the effects of modernism, even though they are, for the most part, completely unaware of the reality of it. Pray for him.
“We have to accept the POSSIBILITY of Hell. (6:27)…we may REASONABLY hope that ALL people may be saved.” (6:47) I guess he doesn’t put much stock in the vision Our Lady gave to the children of Fatima…of souls falling into Hell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmsa0sg4Od4&list=PLKXqw2pP-iAGTu3_oFBPN1DGSlAyzJyTH&index=3
I’m not sure how much longer I can endure Pope Francis the Groovy. I hope the new Salza & Siscoe book on sedevacantism arrives at my door soon.
Here is some non-new evangelization from Pope “no need to convert” Francis :
“Pope Francis just keeps going ‘one better’ (or rather, ‘one worse’)! We thought we’d touched bottom when we learned he tells non-Catholic theists not to convert. But now we learn that he has even told an atheist not to convert to faith in Christ – and indeed, to stay in his atheism! Why? Well, it seems the Pope told Scalfari he enjoys having an unbelieving friend to chat with”. – Fr. Harrison at Catholic Family News.
What popes, saints and doctors of the Church taught about dealing with protestants and heretics:
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http://www.catholicapologetics.info/modernproblems/ecumenism/noncath.htm
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Hey that’s good stuff you linked, St. Cyprian. That pretty much covers it. I love the no dialogue stuff. Real fathers instructing their children in the faith with no dialogue. Such order in the house!
A priest or bishop speaking in public ought not be dressed as His Grace is in the photograph – it is a lie.
“Ultimately, Monsieur, we must go to God per infamiam et bonam famam [whether spoken of well or ill], and His Divine Goodness is merciful to us when it pleases Him to allow us to encounter blame and public contempt.
If the glory of the world is nothing but smoke, the contrary is a solid good, when it is accepted in the right way. I hope that great good will come to us from this humiliation.”
St Vincent de Paul
“Bishop” Bobby doesn’t look like a Bishop. He doesn’t sound like a Bishop. He doesn’t act like a Bishop. I think Louie is right. He’s a faker….perfect for Newchurch! Many more like him out there. Who is worse? The fakers or the faithful silent Bishops?
Dear God, imagine a priest not understanding that the priesthood makes him stand apart – for God, to lead his flock to Heaven. Oh, I fear for his soul if he turns away from his priesthood like that. Pray that God will send us good, holy priests!
EM, our dear Saint Vincent de Paul was speaking of priests and others who are humiliated falsely. If Barron were a holy priest, and demonstrated this in his priesthood it would be truly evil to detract from his reputation, or calumniate him, or criticize him. And he would be shown to be holy if he took this injustice with gladness to suffer with Our Lord.
But what we have here is a priest who is leading souls into hell. He is JUSTLY criticized. We must point out to those who have no way of knowing that a true priest of Christ does NOT act the way Barron does. This is charity.
What we hear from priests like Barron is Protestantism. We are witnessing revolution. God allowed Luther and his revolutionary ilk to sweep throughout Europe, aided by greedy Princes. God is allowing Francis to sweep throughout the world bringing the same revolutionary perversion of the Faith aided by faithless priests. God help him, and Barron.
Barbara, I could not possibly agree with you more. I sometimes wonder if our priests have forgotten the awesome Sacrament of Holy Orders which ordained them to consecrate bread and wine which becomes the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord. This profound sacrament leaves an indelible character on their soul. These wonderful gifts are a double-edged sword. What are the consequences when they minimize (or scandalize!!) their own priesthood? Yes, we must fear for the souls of these wayward priests. Eternity is forever! Our Lady, Mother of the Clergy, pray for us, pray for our priests!
Dear Barbara,
May God bless you for your tireless perseverance in performing His spiritual work of mercy of instructing the ignorant. We have all been deceived and need people like you who stick to the facts with such clarity and patience. May we all pray for fortitude and behave greatfully as Our Lord, over and over again patiently and courageously offers His Truth to us through His people here on earth.
Thank you Barbara and of course you, Louie.
I meant to write WE should behave gratefully and courageously as God patiently reveals His Truth to us.
Dear Barbara,
Would you consider this reflection on the Eucharist as typical Protestant teaching?
For the average poorly-or -non catechised Catholic, would this increase their understanding of the one true faith?
http://youtu.be/sgy_TFeIyiM
Faithful preaching…are you born from above?
A meditation on John 3:3
Jesus answered, and said to him: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
http://youtu.be/ZZ1pLyLdnhM
” 40 … Bishops, to whom is assigned the task of ruling the Church of God, should, together with their priests, so preach the news of Christ that all the earthly activities of the faithful will be bathed in the light of the Gospel. All pastors should remember too that by their daily conduct and concern they are revealing the face of the Church to the world, and men will judge the power and truth of the Christian message thereby. By their lives and speech, in union with Religious and their faithful, may they demonstrate that even now the Church by her presence alone and by all the gifts which she contains, is an unspent fountain of those virtues which the modern world needs the most. ” – Gaudium et Spes”
St John Vianney, St John the Baptist, Sts Peter and Paul, intercede for us Forgive us for having contributed to the Great Apostasy by commission or omission. Show us how to make reparation, give us the grace, Dear Lord. Have pity on us – souls abandoned by our pope, bishops and priests.
Woe unto you when men bless you for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
He isnt a grace….he is a “dis” grace.
Nice wardrobe Mr. Robber Barron….arent you supposed to be a bishop? Back when I was a cop i would have been suspended without pay for a good 5 days for dressing out of uniform like that.
According to Vatican Insider Leo Zagami, the Pope will resign when he gets to Argentina this year. Bergolio has opened doors to immorality which can never be shut. The bad news is, the next Pope will be even worse.
As you say, Rich; ‘Mr’ Robber (is right) Barron’ is a Novus Ordo layman, commanding the obeisance of the deluded and the ire of the even more deluded who give themselves the uncatholic ‘right’ to criticize a so-called Prince of the ‘Church’.
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Folks – there is no such thing as public heretic with Christ’s authority to spread universal poison. Catholic fact. The ‘robber church’ of which Mr Barron is a leader is an apostate Institution without valid orders, without a valid mass, bereft of Catholicity, but riding on the aroma of the incense of the Popes of Christmas past, and in the stolen buildings and usurped Sees.
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http://www.traditionalmass.org/images/articles/Resist-Indefect-P.pdf
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Pope Pius XI: “It is absurd and ridiculous to say that the Mystical Body can be formed out of separated and disjunct members.” Mortalium Animos
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Pope Leo XIII said: “Jesus Christ never conceived of nor instituted a Church formed of many communities which were brought together by certain general traits – but which would be distinct one from another and not bound together among themselves by ties which make the Church one and indivisible – since we clearly profess in the Creed of our Faith: ” ‘I believe in one…Church.’ ” Satis Cognitum
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Pope Pius XI also said: “It is to depart from divine truth to imagine a Church which one can neither see nor touch, which would be nothing more than spiritual in which numerous Christian communities would be united by an invisible bond, even though they are divided in faith.” Mortalium Animos
Oh these people, like this clown barron, make me so sick to my stomach.
Dear Lord I implore You to deliver to us a valid pope, a true Vicar of Your Son Jesus Christ, and relieve of us of this masquerader apostate bergoglio, and the masquerader apostates who came before him. I also implore Lord that you lead all of good Catholic will to see the truth. Amen.
That’s interesting. Do you have a link to an article?
Could you be described as a “warthog from hell”?
Discover the three -fold path to holiness
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-word-on-fire-show/id1065019039?mt=2&i=360928556
Bishop Robert Barron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3h-KfsD_iw&list=PLvrGm7rQ2_V5iQYjuGxai78SQIUDMu3Hz
Kind words, Cortez. I realized this morning that we creatures live in a culture of rebellion. From childhood, through the teenage years we “naturally” attempt to rebel against parents, teachers, pastors etc. – this is, of course, the result of concupiscence – which is like gravity – always pulling us down from our supernatural nature. We have had rebellion from the Garden of Eden – difference is that in some ages parents and teachers and pastors are tempted away from their duty to curb this rebellion in children.
Priests like Fr. Barron live out this spirit of rebellion. As does Francis, and all the others who refuse to believe, act, and speak in traditional ways. This is rebellion, pure and simple, and it is a temptation from Satan.
All the foolish ‘change’ we see in our poor Church, and in our sad world, is simply rebellion. Father Barron is a rebel just like Castro and his violent brother rebels – Barron wears a gentle smile, and has a warm manner – but he is shooting down souls just as if he were using an AK47…same result.
EM, thank you for showing us Father Barron’s other side. Don’t you see how dangerous this poor priest is? Interspersed with the good he teaches are those ‘time bombs’ we are all so familiar with.
Sadly, Father Barron’s faith is a very mixed bag. Some good, just like Francis, but the bad outweighs that good. I say this seriously – these men are dangerous to the Faith because once we are happy with the good teaching, the bad is very easy to swallow.
Again, this is so dangerous! Modernists can read this section of Gaudium et Spes and do exactly what they are doing now. In fact, both Barron and Francis believe they are living out this sentiment to the letter.
Trouble is that the face of the Church to the world that they show is an evil face – a face that is NOT the face we have been given to know and love.
Great points, Barbara.
And well said again, Cortez.
I thought that when Evangelicals spoke “in the Spirit” – as did the man on the clip when he started his meaningless babble – someone was supposed to “translate” – anyway, according to St. Paul (you can check the refs. for yourselves!). Did this NOT happen because no-one knew what the guy was saying – but didn’t like to own up.
I saw some with their hands raised up in the air – were they asking permission to “translate” and the guy didn’t notice them because he was so intent on rattling off his demonic gobble-de-gook?! And this Father Barron LIKED THIS?! What a circus!
Do you think Bishop Barron is being groomed to be papabile?