Bishop Barron calls for Catholics to show charity online

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Weave said:
the fear of Hell is also a motivator for not sinning.
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Yeah, it’s a big motivator if you’re very young or a “baby Christian” I guess.
I don’t find it that useful as an adult.

It keeps people in a stunted state of spiritual growth, makes them view Catholicism like a big rule book, and causes them to either obsess all the time over them or others getting sent to Hell, or alternatively to do the bare minimum necessary to avoid Hell.
 
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JacobF said:
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That was a great video by Dr. Marshall. He was very respectful and truthful in his response. I do think Bp Barron posted that video because of the blow back he was receiving due to his Twitter comments about the protection of statues being the job of the laity.

Not to mention the irony that Dr. Marshall pointed out in reference to being called an “extremist“ by Barron and choosing not talk with him and saying he won’t give him a platform.

Maybe it doesn’t rise to the level of calumny that Bp Barron was referring to, but it certainly begs the question of why Bp Barron doesn’t extend that same understanding he mentioned in the quote below towards Dr. Marshall.
“For real argument fosters both truth and love. It seeks to shed light on what is really the case - truth - and to invite others to see more clearly - it’s a type of love.
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You have to start somewhere. I think actions have consequence is a good start. There is nothing immature about fearing Hell. A healthy fear of Hell and understanding of why it exists leads to an actual love of God and the mercy He offers us. Jesus talked an awful lot about Hell and I’m inclined to heed His warnings.
 
Crusader13 said:
JacobF:
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That was a great video by Dr. Marshall. He was very respectful and truthful in his response. I do think Bp Barron posted that video because of the blow back he was receiving due to his Twitter comments about the protection of statues being the job of the laity.

Not to mention the irony that Dr. Marshall pointed out in reference to being called an “extremist“ by Barron and choosing not talk with him and saying he won’t give him a platform.

Maybe it doesn’t rise to the level of calumny that Bp Barron was referring to, but it certainly begs the question of why Bp Barron doesn’t extend that same understanding he mentioned in the quote below towards Dr. Marshall.
“For real argument fosters both truth and love. It seeks to shed light on what is really the case - truth - and to invite others to see more clearly - it’s a type of love.
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Yes, I wasn’t a fan of his response to Taylor Marshall either. I don’t follow Marshall myself, but I don’t think his response to Bishop Barron’s statue controversy was in any way unreasonable.

I get why Bishop Barron wrote specifically about the worst of his critics, but I wish he would address the criticisms of people who respectfully responded to his statue article, as that’s what I’m really interested in. I’m not sure why the CNA article focuses on Marshall’s response so much as he was far from the only one in Catholic media to take issue with Bishop Barron’s article.
 
Politics brings out the worst* in CAFers from what I’ve seen recently. Especially in the run up to the U.S. election in November a moratorium on political threads about Trump, Biden, Republicans and Democrats might be prudent to maintain charity around here.

*in people, generally.
 
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What better place to discuss the two most divisive topics known to man (politics and religion) than a “place” where misinformation, deception, agitators, algorithms, and children are all anonymous and indistinguishable.

Yes, this place could use some charity.
 
Hmmm. Reading a Facebook post by Bishop Barron to a poster who respectfully explained their views on Vatican II, that those who rejected Vatican II placed themselves outside the Church, seemed needlessly antagonistic on the Bishop’s part. Seems he should practice what he preaches.
 
StudentMI said:
Hmmm. Reading a Facebook post by Bishop Barron to a poster who respectfully explained their views on Vatican II, that those who rejected Vatican II placed themselves outside the Church, seemed needlessly antagonistic on the Bishop’s part. Seems he should practice what he preaches.
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Yes, it’s sad. I was a fan of his but now I’m second guessing myself. I am not impressed when someone is very good a “talking the talk” but seems to want others to be walking the walk.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I noticed that the guy Tim Gordon who got fired from his teaching job for the unnecessary divisive/ uncivil stuff he was posting on Twitter is now complaining about Bishop Barron. Perfect example of what Bishop Barron is talking about. I’ll side with the Bishop on this one.
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I know there is a bit of a video war going on at the moment between them all - Bishop Barron, Tim Gordon, Taylor Marshal and Michael Vorris.

I listen to them all.

I think Tim’s claim is that he was fired (in California) from a Catholic school for criticising BLM and was not getting support from Bishop Barron (a neighbouring Bishop) who later engaged online with responders (including Taylor Marshal) commenting that it was the responsibility of the laity to defend the attacks on religious statues.

Tim believes that he was doing exactly that but got fired.

I think both Tim and Taylor seem quite reasonable and Bishop Barron was admonishing their supporters who came on his Youtube channel and left many uncharitable remarks.

I do like Tim’s term ‘weaponised ambiguity’ because i think it is an intellectual step backwards that attempts to move/affect the thinking of Catholics over time sneakily, without addressing the main issues directly. I think the church has suffered and declined for decades because of the embrace by this ‘weaponised ambiguity’.

I also agree with Tim’s comments that a big problem in society now is that the aggressor is playing the victim card to the division and detriment of us all. I think the church should lead on this problem.

Regarding Bishop Barron, i have no criticism of him at all. I think it should be acceptable to have reasonable criticisms of clergy. I am sure i would disagree with Bishop Barron on some issues and in the way the church positions itself. But i think the Bishop does very well to engage with society through social media, is thoughtful, learned. wise, respectful and a good representative of the church.

 
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I think this is a wake-up call a lot of Catholics need to hear … myself included.
 
I appreciated Bishop Barron’s take on the possibility of hell being empty. I believe it echoes something speculated by Pope Benedict as well as the Catechism teaching we have reason to hope for the salvation of those outside the church. It helped me at a time I was struggling staying Catholic and once my faith cracked in about the 2nd year of the current pontificate, one of the things I COULDN’T wrap my brain around any longer was the concept of hell. It seemed to me even the concept of endless reincarnations was far more merciful than the Christian idea of endless, irrevocable torment/punishment, even for the worst person ever. I share Bishop Barron’s take on the whole thing. I’m open to the possibility that very few are there, if at all.
 
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Weave said:
But it still follows that mortal sin leads to Hell. While we should avoid sin because we love the Lord and want to keep His commandments to show that we love him the fear of Hell is also a motivator for not sinning. Both reasons for not sinning are mentioned in the Act of Contrition.
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Both reasons are found at the end of the Epistle of Jude…Some are motivated by compassion; some by fear.
 
“Be not overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)

An antidote to evil comments (calumny, arrogant comments, etc.) is good comments.
 
I see it as that if hell is empty, it’s not because God is a pushover, there’s no such thing as mortal sin. It means that at the end, people experience a conversion and a contrition.

St. Faustina says that Jesus calls out to all of us at the moment of our death.

We ask Our Lady “pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death”

We believe Our Lady intercedes for us.

I think we can hope for the repentance of all.
 
I appreciate Bishop Barron, though think he would be well advised to practice what he is preaching.
 
It’s a universal problem, and it’s partially not people’s fault. The internet is devoid of body language and tone and that creates drastically more misunderstandings than what already exist. People can frequently come across as cold, angry, or uncaring even if that is not their intention. On top of this, anonymity or distance makes people uncharacteristically bold and prone to ignore charity.

It’s not a minor problem because communication is a central pillar to civilization. It is a serious issue. God must help us.

Peace.
 
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I particularly notice that there is a certain organised clique of persons here who regularly flag posts by traditionalists, ironically while complaining about lack of charity and respect for others views.
 
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