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.

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.


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. 

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: 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.

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 29, 2011: Commonweal's Thomas Baker reviews Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith.

"The War on Beige"

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.

[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.

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

Share

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. 

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:

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...

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 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.

Listen to Father Barron's podcast at any of the following links:

http://new.catholicmom.com/2009/08/06/catholic-moments-114-father-robert-barron/
http://catholicmoments.libsyn.org/index.php?post_id=512312
http://sqpn.com/2009/08/06/catholic-moments-114-father-robert-barron/
http://www.catholicexchange.com

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

View Article on: America | The National Catholic Weekly

View article on Chicago Daily Observer.

View article on: Mary's Anawim

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.

View article on: Chicago Tribune