I received an email about Bishop Barrons theology in terms of his commentary on the synodal in Rome. It was very, very good and extremely deep. It was from a Catholic laywoman. I was already deeply concerned about Bishop Barrons virtual denial of the reality of hell But what this woman had to say about his theology regarding Catholic Action, which as far as I recall derives from French very suspect sources concerns me even more than the denial of hell. I will have to unpack what this lady says. It is wonderfully deèp. But I am inclined to regard Bishop Barron as very deeply suspect As to his asking questions about vmPapa Frankie. I wouldn't give him brownie points fir this EVERYONE is asking questions about Frankie. He is off the rails
Bishop Barrons theology is deeply, deeply suspect I will get back to you on this when I can unpack what this lady wrote . Wonderfully deep. Amazing, from an ordinary Catholic laywoman. It will take me days and days of deep thought and prayer to fully understand her email. Very, very deep ..and she quotes no sources.. This is her own original thoughts. Really outstanding..
Bishop Barron presented a recent teaching revolving around God's response to Elijah's killing the false prophets of Baal. That teaching puzzled and deeply disappointed me. So I was happy that his sermon on the First Sunday of Advent (see post #1) is excellent. I'm not trying to say the latest redeems the prior.
A lot of stuff coming out of France which Barron is quoting is deeply troubling. He is very widely read but discernment is important. He just seems to drink this stuff in without filtering it. I just wonder why? It was the same with his no hell thingy? I mean how did he drop the ball like that? So big time? But if what this woman wrote is true about Catholic Action it is even worse.
I have beard really wonderful things about his Apostale but for a Catholic Bishop really theology is all in all. It is the play book from which all else follows . It is very troubling. I will take a few days to understand what this woman wrote me, but sadly it doesn't look good.
I might invite her to write to some of the bigger Catholic sites, she has a voice that needs to be heard
Can you expand on this? What did he say? Is Catholic Action the same organization that Pius XII founded to fight communism?
Bishop Barron is piling in on Papa Frankie but at this point it is the thing to do.He is with the flow. If he'd done this ten years ago I might have given him brownie points. But now? It's a far too late. I hope I'm not being cynical but I wonder if he is getting on board with the next Pope, who will inevitably be a very different proposition from Frankie? A' Pope' who may very well be an actual Catholic. Something Papa Frankie could never, ever have been accused off. I believe he thinks being Catholic is some kind of mind disease people, lesser people from obscure places like Texas come down with and need sorted.
I think the mistake the French intellectuals made at this period .and still continue to make is as regards prayer. That the heart, prayer is far less important than intellectual, the brain . The Orthodox condemned this as the heresy of shcolasticism, of the schools. Of the head . It means we kind kind of plan our own salvation, a form of Gnostacism Just very like what Papa Frankie is doing in Rome. This would seem to imply to me that Vishop Barron, like Frankie in Rome is not praying or not praying enough or not praying at sll. I doubt very much if Frankie has ever prayed at all. But I wonder.. Bishop Barron...hmm.
I think this orthodox teaching is brilliant (although I disagree with their criticism of scholasticism). I believe this explains why "very intelligent" scientists like Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking never abandoned atheism, and people with cognitive limitations managed to deeply know God.
This is why Saint John of the Cross wrote that at the end of the day we will be judged by love It is also why St Thomas Aquinas , before he died , having had a profound mystical experience stopped writing. He said that all he wrote was straw compared to the reality . One of the great signs of heresy us that they talk too much. Intellect is their God Witness the huge boring talk shop called the Synod on Sybodality.
Which is why Pope Benedict was urgently trying to fix our liturgy. Once again too much talking They have turned our Churches into talk shops
I once read a book about St Thomas Aquinas, written by Bishop Barren (I've decided to leave the typo!). Although his views on Aquinas were uncontroversial, as far as a simple person like me could see, he referred to God as 'She', continually throughout the book. This greatly jarred on me...goodness knows what St Thomas must think of it. I've been wary of him since, although it is in his favour that he is not now a cardinal. Your point, Padraig, about the lateness of his criticism of Pope Francis is apt. He's no Cardinal Mueller.
Luan, although Aquinas was a great mind, he was also a saint, with his great heart as committed as his mighty brain. However, after him, some scholastics went very wrong. They might have had the intellects, but not St Thomas' heart. I'm thinking particularly of William of Ockham (best known for 'Ockham's Razor) who devised a philosophy of 'Nominalism', which was the beginning of human thinking going very much astray and leading, through Descartes' errors, into those of the Enlightenment. So, I wouldn't criticise the Orthodox too much. I wouldn't tolerate them criticising Aquinas however, although he didn't get everything right-he disagreed with the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, for example, and Padraig would be appalled that he believed dogs would not go to Heaven (Don Scotus, the other great scholastic disagreed with him on both fronts, apparently). I don't think either Dawkins or Hawking are great minds. I have seen them, and their science, demolished by greater ones quite often. Good men at getting publicity, though.
"She" ??? Oh dear. That is a signal screaming loudly. Its such a fundamental error. Such wrong thinking. Where does one start? Bishop Barren indeed.
I think one thing I think about Bishop Barron and many of our fellow Catholics is how much we do not walk alone in our spiritual journey; as John Dunne said, 'No man is an island'. We are,despite ourselves very deeply affected (or infected) by the deeply, deeply materialistic and pagan culture that is all around us. We drink it like a poison, or are infected with it like a virus without even knowing. The antidote to this is a deep and abiding prayer life which centers on the Rosary and the very deepest love and veneration to the Virgin Mary. That is spiritual vaccine, our cure our hope. I watched Bishop Barron in an interview with Ben Shapiro a young, genius class Orthodox Jew. Ben Shapiro asked the Bishop one simple question, 'If I do not believe in Jesus can I be saved?' The Bishop was totally flummoxed, he hmmm and hawed and tried to get out from under. All the Bishop had to say was what Scripture teaches, that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Messiah and Saviour of the World, The Son of God. ..and without Him there can be no Salvation. But He could not not bring Himself to do so, I suspect because he thought it would not be a nice thing to say.. No Man Is an Island No man is an island, Entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, As well as if a promontory were: As well as if a manor of thy friend's Or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
