Aesthetics, Merton, and political omissions

Matthew digs into the fascism-enabling political theology of Bishop Robert Barron and the rightward slide of Big Catholic media. From his early admiration of Thomas Merton—carefully stripped of his antiwar and anti-capitalist passion—to his praise for Jordan Peterson, Marco Rubio, and Charlie Kirk, Barron repackages Red Scare tropes in the language of beauty, civility, and “religious liberty.”

And what about his virtual silence on ICE operations in Minnesota and the suffering of immigrants within his own diocese? What does “religious freedom” mean when it defends  American exceptionalism more than human beings?

Show Notes

McGarry: Ireland and the Spanish Civil War 

Ireland | Virtual Spanish Civil War 

Diocese of Winona-Rochester settles with abuse survivors for $21.5 million | National Catholic Reporter 

Word On Fire Catholic Ministries - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica 

Evangelization, Movement, and the Word on Fire Institute 

Word on Fire Institute 

The Hundredth Anniversary of Thomas Merton’s Birth - Word on Fire 

The Jordan Peterson Phenomenon - Word on Fire 

He Died with a Microphone in His Hand - First Things 

Bishop Barron’s Latest MAGA Crusade Sparks Vatican Alarm

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