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Shaolen
Guest
Is it just me or is Fr Robert Barron kind of like the Fulton sheen of our generation?
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Catholic1954
Guest
Bishop Barron is an excellent teacher, but he is known mostly by Catholics; Bishop Sheen was also a secular media star; he had his own network television show and many non-Catholic Americans watched his weekly program. Now that he is a bishop we will see what the Lord has next in mind for Robert Barron! 
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Marie5890
Guest
And I would add, Bishop Barron is pretty much only known by devout Catholics who are serious about knowing their faith thru study and research.
Like the other poster has said, Bishop Sheen was much more well known. More like Billy Graham-esque known.
One should remember that the American culture of Sheen’s day is so very very different from the American culture that Barron is apart of.
Like the other poster has said, Bishop Sheen was much more well known. More like Billy Graham-esque known.
One should remember that the American culture of Sheen’s day is so very very different from the American culture that Barron is apart of.
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book_and_bead
Guest
I love Bishop Barron; I bought his DVD set Catholicism and it’s spectacular! I agree that he’s an excellent teacher. I watch his YouTube channel often. I hope he does rise to Bishop Sheen’s status. We so desperately need it today. Marie, you’re right; we are a much different culture than that of 50 years ago.
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Vouthon
Guest
I think his interpretation of Catholic Social Teaching is considerably flawed. He has an excellent grasp of other branches of theology and is a praiseworthy communicator but he falls down as a scholar of social doctrine.
He frequently explains away the radical criticism of capitalism as an economic system in the social encyclicals, endorsing the erroneous scholarship of Michael Novak.
I think that Cardinal Tagle is more well-known worldwide, has a bigger social media presence and is a better fit as a modern day Fulton Sheen.
He frequently explains away the radical criticism of capitalism as an economic system in the social encyclicals, endorsing the erroneous scholarship of Michael Novak.
I think that Cardinal Tagle is more well-known worldwide, has a bigger social media presence and is a better fit as a modern day Fulton Sheen.
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AKDee
Guest
I, too, am a huge fan of Bishop Barron. I hope that his duties as Bishop will still allow him to evangelize and catechize through Word On Fire.
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tee_eff_em
Guest
True, he is not a Bishop Sheen (yet).
But he is certainly in a right place to become so, if a network will give him a shot.
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But he is certainly in a right place to become so, if a network will give him a shot.
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Tarpeian_Rock
Guest
Bishop Sheen flourished in the early days of TV when a program such as his could draw a considerable audience. Also, the society at the time, while exhibiting a considerable anti-Catholic bias, at leased had a general embrace of Judeo-Christian values as well as Scriptural exposure from the Bible still being read in public schools (imagine that!). It would be hard to imagine today’s culture embracing a prime-time program along similar lines. Maybe in our fragmented media environment something might be possible.
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Convert_in_99
Guest
Who???
Yeah I disagree. Most people in the 1950’s knew who Fulton Sheen was, even non-Catholics and non believers. I consider myself a practicing Catholic and I’m going to have to look up this priest on Google. 
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tee_eff_em
Guest
As of last week, look for Bishop Robert Barron.Who???
(Auxiliary to Los Angeles)
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AKDee
Guest
I was talking to some cradle Catholics the other day who didn’t know who Fulton Sheen was, so one person not knowing of someone doesn’t mean they haven’t impacted thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions of people.Who???
I hope you do look up Bishop Robert Barron. He is a prominent Catholic author, speaker, and is well known for his “Catholicism” DVD series. He has a new book out called “Seeds of the Word” and I believe he just released a new DVD series as well. He’s also featured in Lighthouse Catholic Media’s CD recordings and you can find some of his talks on Youtube. I’m a new convert (baptized this past Easter) and then-Father Robert Barron’s work had a big impact on me.
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ToeInTheWater
Guest
No, Bishop Barron hasn’t quite achieved the crossover appeal of Bishop Sheen, and I doubt he ever will, but not just because religion itself is considered less marketable to the masses. AFAIK, when Bishop Sheen had his TV show, cable hadn’t been invented, and there were only so many network TV choices. That’s obviously not the case anymore.
So much has changed since the days of Bishop Sheen when it comes to what “popular media” is. Even in the last 20-30 years. For example, I’m in my 30s, and I recall the Miss America pageant was still a staple of popular broadcast TV when I was a kid. To the point that a teen magazine called “Sassy” devoted an article to exposing “Miss America as a sham”. Being Miss America was a Big Deal. Vanessa Williams being the first African-American woman selected, and later losing her crown in a scandal, was considered Really Big News.
But I think far fewer teenage girls these days find Miss America to be a role model or a life goal. Now, I know pageants are still very popular in certain regions (such as the South), but they’re really not mainstream entertainment anymore. You’d really have to search in the hinterlands of the TV listings to find a beauty pageant on air these days.
Some of that is due to general cultural shifts, of course, and I think part of that is due to the fragmentation of popular media itself. New TV shows rarely match the Nielsen ratings of classics, because even if it’s a great show, there’s so much more competition out there compared to the days when the Big Three networks were the only game in town.
So, even if there were to be some kind of religious revival in the US, I doubt Bishop Barron would ever achieve the same status Bishop Sheen did.
However, the Catholicism series certainly wasn’t just confined to EWTN. It was actually aired FIRST on PBS stations, which tend to be rather left of center. Now, I guess PBS channels themselves, other than the kids’ shows, aren’t really that mainstream anymore either, but I’m sure his series reached more people than just the cradle Catholics.
As for whether Bishop Barron is weak on social issues; there actually IS more to Catholicism than just the social issues! Evangelization is different from winning over people to your socio-political issue platform. The secular press already tends to view and present religious leaders as mere politicians, let’s not fall into the same trap.
So much has changed since the days of Bishop Sheen when it comes to what “popular media” is. Even in the last 20-30 years. For example, I’m in my 30s, and I recall the Miss America pageant was still a staple of popular broadcast TV when I was a kid. To the point that a teen magazine called “Sassy” devoted an article to exposing “Miss America as a sham”. Being Miss America was a Big Deal. Vanessa Williams being the first African-American woman selected, and later losing her crown in a scandal, was considered Really Big News.
But I think far fewer teenage girls these days find Miss America to be a role model or a life goal. Now, I know pageants are still very popular in certain regions (such as the South), but they’re really not mainstream entertainment anymore. You’d really have to search in the hinterlands of the TV listings to find a beauty pageant on air these days.
Some of that is due to general cultural shifts, of course, and I think part of that is due to the fragmentation of popular media itself. New TV shows rarely match the Nielsen ratings of classics, because even if it’s a great show, there’s so much more competition out there compared to the days when the Big Three networks were the only game in town.
So, even if there were to be some kind of religious revival in the US, I doubt Bishop Barron would ever achieve the same status Bishop Sheen did.
However, the Catholicism series certainly wasn’t just confined to EWTN. It was actually aired FIRST on PBS stations, which tend to be rather left of center. Now, I guess PBS channels themselves, other than the kids’ shows, aren’t really that mainstream anymore either, but I’m sure his series reached more people than just the cradle Catholics.
As for whether Bishop Barron is weak on social issues; there actually IS more to Catholicism than just the social issues! Evangelization is different from winning over people to your socio-political issue platform. The secular press already tends to view and present religious leaders as mere politicians, let’s not fall into the same trap.
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tee_eff_em
Guest
Perhaps. However:
I am in my early 50’s, and I do not remember the Venerable Bishop Sheen’s broadcasts. On the other hand:
- I kind of know who the Kardasians are, though I could not tell you why I nor anyone else should ever have wanted to Keep Up with them.
- I don’t know their names, but I know there are Real Housewives in Atlanta, New Jersey, Beverly Hills, and maybe other places?
- I could not pick her out of a line-up, but I do know Honey Boo-boo’s name.
- I don’t know whatever happened to Snookie nor The Situation, but then I never knew what was happening to them, I only knew their names.
- There are a plethora of other A-list, B-list, C-list, D-list. etc-list celebrities of whom I am at least aware if not knowledgeable
So who knows what kind of exposure Bishop Barron could garner while sitting in the heart of America’s entertainment machine?
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