The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture WOF 530: Catholic Ministry & Social Media (pt. 2)
9 snips
Mar 2, 2026 
Steve Grunow, a priest who leads communications and digital formation, and Robert Barron, a bishop and prolific Catholic evangelist, discuss social media and ministry. They define social media for evangelization. They link John Paul II’s call to new media and recount early YouTube experiments. They explore institutional readiness, providence in media work, and why new media is central to outreach.
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Social Media As Realization Of John Paul II's New Evangelization
- Social media fits John Paul II's call for a new evangelization by offering new methods and expressions for proclaiming the faith.
- Bishop Robert Barron reads the 1983 Port-au-Prince speech as prophetic of digital media's arrival and new ways to stir ardor.
How Bishop Barron Stumbled Into YouTube
- Bishop Robert Barron started posting on YouTube in 2007 as an experiment after hearing about the platform.
- His early view counts (he was delighted at ~200 viewers) show a grassroots beginning that grew from long academic formation meeting a new medium.
Early Intuition That Learning Would Become Screen Based
- Early Word on Fire investment in digital media came from an intuition that screen-based learning would dominate and required adaptability.
- Fr. Steve Grunow notes many Catholic communicators couldn't adapt, causing a sorting of platforms and talent in the 2000s.