Robert Barron | – Conspiracy Theories, the Virgin Mary, and the Word on Fire Institute


Friends, I wanted to share with you this clip from a special livestream conversation with the members of the Word on Fire Institute. In this video, I talk about the phenomenon of conspiracy theories, the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Church, and how to reach the world with the truth and beauty of Christ.

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About The Author

Bishop Robert Barron These are brief and insightful commentaries on faith and culture by Catholic theologian and author Bishop Robert Barron. The videos complement his weekly sermons posted and podcasted at WordOnFire.org.

Comment (47)

  1. I applaud Bishop Barron for repeatedly making YouTube videos when so many of the comments are just attacks against him, Vatican 2, the Church or Christianity in general.

    Keep fighting the good fight Bishop Barron, you have so much support. It's just not always evident on the comments section of your videos….

  2. It was necessary that the sinless, one and only Son (of God) assume a human body and bear on it the punishment for mankind's sin. At least that's the way the wisdom of the Father chose the course of things. While Jesus' death it is WHAT SAVES THE SINFUL SOUL Mary, another sinless one's involvement was pertinent for the entire episode to take place and be completed. It wouldn't 'make sense' to sandwich a sinful element between the ALL HOLY FATHER and His ONLY BEGOTTEN. Again, while it's Jesus alone WHO SAVES, it also more than seems that there is this demand from God as it were of the unique contribution of Faith and obedience that called for the incomparable pain and sorrow that the Blessed Mother had to and did undergo. We know how and how well she was one with the Father's will and her Son, the Savior of the world. An ordinary woman wouldn't suffice at that☆
    Hail Mary, full of Grace☆
    Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners☆

  3. "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead," Ben Franklin. I think it is a very generous gesture of yours to acknowledge unnamed conspiracy theories, but I fear your granting that sometimes conspiracies are real will just add fodder to keep them going. Ah, well. You've addressed them. Let's hope this takes care of things. Time to move on and get on with fulfilling the actual commands of Jesus. May God bless your work.

  4. I'd be interested in Bishop Barron making a video on EWTN's documentary, "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" because it sure does show a possible reason why there are so many Catholics that reject church dogmas like abortion and priests only being men. I'd honestly be interested in seeing if Bishop Barron includes it as a conspiracy theory or sees any validity in it. There should be a think an effort by bishops to figure out why we have so many Catholics who reject dogmas that cannot change so they can reverse this. I believe it is because of children getting educated incorrectly and not being brought up with our true beliefs and EWTN's documentary shows how it was done.

  5. because Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant. there was no way The 10 Commandments were going to be placed in an ordinary box. the box had to be special. it's the same w/ Mary. there's no way Jesus would have been conceived in a "tainted" woman. she had to be special. like the Ark of the Covenant.

  6. False teaching. Mary Magdalene was the daughter of Cyrus of Magdala who was a sinner. Even if Mary had no recorded sin in life, she inherited it from Cyrus and therefore had sin in her heart. Not a conspiracy, it's based on scripture. The same text from where we even get to know who Jesus and Mary is.

  7. COVID19 and shutting down our ability to practice our faith. This is my biggest concern that local governments across our country have been allowed to circumvent our Constitutional Rights to practice our faith. For Catholics this has seen the shut down of our churches and other religious organizations for MONTHS! In my state of Connecticut we have just recently been able to attend live Mass celebrations, receive our Lord at Holy Communion and pray together. 14 weeks!!!! we have been shut down all because of Covid. I accepted this for the good of society and believing it was the right thing to do. But has time passed from the first 3 weeks and then 5 weeks and we learned more the solution for quite awhile was to wear a mask and practice social distancing. I believe we could have used the procedures we now do at Mass perhaps starting back to the 5th week of the shut down. It was simple solution, our Pastors are all smart enough and ingenious enough to set this up long before 14 weeks. I'm very upset that the USCCB allowed this to happen and NEVER challenged our shutdown based upon our Constitutional right to practice our faith!! Disappointing at least. It is an utter failure for the "Good Shepards" to protect the "sheep" The Institute is doing the same thing now!! Don't let them do this!! Thanks for letting me put my 2 cents in.

  8. Bishop Barron……I am so disappointed that so many are on here chastising you, as you have always been loyal to the Church and have contributed much to the education of so many including Catholics. This will be a long comment since I have so much to say.

    I am afraid that there is another schism brewing that is being fueled by the so called Trads who hold Vatican II in contempt, and who blame most of the ills of the church today on that council. They hold the Novus ordo mass to be a "satanic" development in the liturgy. They blame Pope Paul and condemn Pope Francis for being lenient toward the ecumenical movement, and too patient with modern society. They don't want women anywhere near the altar even as readers or altar servers. The only mass that they respect are those in Latin. They don't have much respect for any sort of ecumenical movement whose goal is not the conversion of others to Roman Catholicism, even of those whose goal is toward reconciling the divide between us and other Christians. They barely give lip service to the fact that other Christians are our 'brothers and sisters in Christ', because they don't believe that they are. The Trads believe that unity can only be when they join the "Roman Catholic Church" as envisioned by the very same trads….the Trads. barely believe that the Orthodox are real Christians…..and will only admit that when hard pressed…..The Roman Catholic Trads believe that all must belong to the Roman Catholic Church………dream along Catholic bro Trads.

    The main promoters of this coming "schism" are the YouTube Trad darlings such as The Vortex, Michael Voris, Taylor Marshall .John Henry Weston, Matt Fradd, and their followers and guests who often have their own catholic sites, that they interview in order to gird their loins and their cause. Bishop Vigano being among them.

    I am an old man…..in poor health seventy four years old. Was raised Catholic….catholic all through grade school and high school. My wife died two years ago after fifty two years of marriage, she loves Jesus….above all….she was fond of saying…." I love you best next to Jesus." I remember that every day….. she had a Catholic funeral service and mass, and I have been attending live Novus Ordo mass on TV almost every day, since, the Corona Virus, I miss her so much, but this constant diatribe against Bishop Barron and others…the so called trads and by Vigano saddens me so much. I don't recognize or know who or what the church is anymore. I have more to say….but a comment area only has so much room.
    I apologize for being so long winded.

    I hope God is more merciful than what the Trads portray Him to be …otherwise I can never reach the perfection that they expect or I will never see Jesus or my wife again………..despite all my attempts at confession of my sins and begging god's forgiveness and mercy……….I am living in the dark night of the soul for the past two years…I weep for her every day……….I was talking to my parish priest this morning and week day masses have now resumed at 9 a.m tuesday to friday. Pray for Bishop Barron…..who is a voice of reason in this "vortex", of madness and misguided blame of catholic church woes in North America.

  9. Conspiracies? The gift of redemption came from the biggest one.
    Conspiracy theories? You've already been redeemed. Don't get distracted.

    If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort.

  10. Catholic since birth, practice the rosary on a frequent basis and your explanations or case was not the best.
    I'm a regular listener of yours but I can absolutely see why some Catholics don't have a devotion to the Blessed Mother or why some non believers are skeptical of our faith.

  11. I can personally vouch for the blessing the Word on Fire Institute has brought to me. It has not only brought me into a closer relationship with Jesus but has also, most importantly, allowed me to more readily and easily vocalize that Faith. I loved the course on Balthazar and have been going deeper into the writings of Thomas Aquinas – who speaks to the logical and intellectual side of me. The new Bible format has me reading the Gospels in a much more personal way. God Bless all the folks who make this happen and to you Bishop Barron for being faithful to the call. With out your ‘yes’ none of this would be possible

  12. Very interesting discussion. I would like to know Bishop's view on "Alpha" that parishes are using to get Catholics more on fire for our Catholic faith.I have heard some wonderful things from people who have went through "Alpha".

  13. Thanks, beautiful thought on Conspiracy Theories and we should always be mindful that the Original Conspiracy theory was in the Garden of Eden, as the serpent tells Adam and Eve that there is a conspiracy on God's part who does not want them to eat of the fruit in the center of the garden because if they do they will become God.
    I would like to suggest that most Conspiracy theories come from, guess who!?

  14. If anyone is looking to learn about the beauty and majesty of the Catholic faith online this is the channel to subscribe to.
    Ignore those online who have no ecclesiastical authority and dubious qualifications promoting division and their own agendas.

  15. Why are Catholics obsessed with Mary? It makes no sense to me. Most Catholics care more about Mary than Jesus. And who cares whether she was supposedly sinless? It makes absolutely no practical difference to anyone alive today.

  16. I'm skeptical about conspiracy theories in general although some can indeed seem plausible like the ones I've seen here on YouTube involving church people but I'm not making any definite judgment on them. Perhaps there are indeed those who know. Certainly, I'm not one of them. I just remember Jesus saying those actions done in secret will be brought to light and not everyone who says Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. Just today I actually learned about the murder of Fr. Kunz so I'm interested in reading articles about it.

  17. I appreciate your insight and your movie reviews… I recently watched the movie Groundhog Day. Would you please watch it again and share your insights with us? It's a deep movie with some wonderful lessons

  18. The JFK assassination. Your Excellency, do you really believe in the lone nut shooter narrative? I thought no one believed it any more. Incidentally, I understand the term “conspiracy theory” was coined and weaponised to to cower and silence those who challenged the lone nut theory; and what a powerful weapon it has been ever since! We have a serious moral obligation to confront facts flat on, and not to flinch when a pejorative epithet is hurled at us. I hope I never have to hear you use that accursed term again. Not good, not good.

  19. Kindly consider praying an additional holy Rosary to your current daily one, for the loving intentions of our Blessed Mother – she will be ever so grateful.  Thanks.  God bless.

  20. Hi I just found your station. I am a Catholic. Can you explain (if you already did a video please direct me) The bill in Congress HR 6666? Its extremely disturbing.. especially that we now know the reality of the low numbers the virus has infected. Thanks

  21. Good Day Bishop Barron: Through a vissionary, it was conveyed to me that Mother Mary needs to petition God to change the "course of history," to avoid worldly incidents that may be detrimental to His children (us) on earth, such as a global pandemic. Mary stated to the vissionary that there are times when she is successful in convincing God to change "the course of history" and other times when she is not successful. Given that God's children are created and directly governed by Him, Mother Mary has to be extremely convincing for our Father to have mercy on our souls and release us from natural disasters that will touch the entire civilization.

  22. I’m not sure you answered the immaculate conception view adequately. St. Jacob of Serugh, an anti-Chalcedonian Syrian father mentioned that the Spirit overshadowing her and the presence of Christ in her womb and incarnating from her was what cleansed her from Original Sin. She wasn’t born immaculate but made immaculate at the incarnation.

    That doesn’t make her less righteous. Heck, John the Forerunner was also viewed as morally immaculate by Christ. Why isn’t he also immaculately conceived? The Theotokos is no different (and I use John as an example because I believe in a more Deisis theology, in which Mary brought Christ to the world, John brought the world and underworld to Christ, and they both are our intercessors before His throne), and Christ needing an immaculate womb before entering is actually Platonic more than anything, making God seem so high and mighty and so pure as needing a Demiurge to touch the “dirty” creation. No, it’s the presence of Christ who destroys sin. It is Him entering the most righteous Theotokos that cleansed her. I think the Catholic Church should have agreed with Aquinas on this one and should not have turned the immaculate conception into a dogma.

    In any case I don’t mean this to attack. This is me sharing why I have disagreements with the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, I end with this. As a Coptic Orthodox, I find more solidarity with Catholic brothers and sisters, and I enjoy Bishop Barron’s videos as a light for the world. May the Lord bless your service and multiply your efforts and fruits.

  23. The RIGHT ANSWER about Mary's Immaculate nature : because she's the NEW EVE , the Eve before original sin .
    Sinless Eve was formed from sinless Adam ; God -CHRIST the NEW ADAM took flesh from immaculate (sinless) virgin Mary the NEW EVE. Only In this new perfect sinless recipient could the Son of God form His Saint Body , flesh taken from sinless flesh of Virgin Mary.
    Mary's Immaculate conception was a Necessary condition in order to make possible human race Redemption /Restoration.
    There 's deep theology around this and Fathers of the Cath C largely wrote on the subject.

  24. 5:25 "theories of conspiration" hahah : History abounds in planned conspiracies which the plotters, if uncovered by chance, dismissed as "theories".
    Nazi-Communism marxism enemy of CC is now hovering over the WHOLE WORLD's scale ! This is FACT not theory, and it's NOT the result of some unlucky misfortune happening overnight !! , except for the naives.
    And YES the C Church has been infiltrated by marxists .
    BUT : Peter's successor to mislead the CC ?? NO WAY ! Peter LIVES in his successor (pope F), and Christ made him and only him a well-known promise.

  25. I grew up not going to church, though my parents were former Catholics. (My dad converted to Mormonism, but never raised me in the Mormon Church). However I have been watching you and Ascension, and am doing the Bible in a year podcast. I want to thank you for having these vids on Youtube, and are an answer to a preyer for me. Am a former Pagan/Wiccan bordering on Atheism , who was intirerly to angry. Totally spoke out against the Bible, basically because of the nasty things Christians have done in history. But when I prayed to God and ask for understanding, i found myself not truly angry anymore, that humans do beautiful and horrible things, however think of that time then and understand that there is recognition of it now

  26. There is possibly other reasons for the Immaculate Conception. St Paul says that Jesus was born under the Law of a woman under the Law. Since the Law strictly forbade anyone except the High Priest to enter the Holy of Holies because God’s Presence was there, Mary had to be raised to holiness in order for the Presence of God, in Christ, to enter Her. Secondly, Adam and Eve were sanctified (even though Aquinas says that they both had to consent to that grace at the instant of their creation) so too Jesus as the New Adam, conceived in total holiness as His state demanded from the instant of conception, so too did Mary, to typify the New Eve, be conceived in holiness of state. A third reason is that there had to be someone who was in the fullness of Grace and mediatrix of Christ’s graces, deified by grace, present in the apostolic era as a sign and need of the possibility of a human being apart from Jesus Himself as a partaker in the life of God on earth as given in the Divine Will Doctrine of Luisa Piccarreta. This fullness of divine Grace to the extent of participating in the divinity – as in mystical marriage but one degree deeper, would fully and wonderfully complete the type and reality of the Church as Bride of the Lamb and sharing the activity in Christ through prayer with the Divine fecundity and multiplicity as it existed in the words of creation. Anyone not understanding the latter, who has not studied these writings for the era of what Pope John Paul II called, “The era of new and Divine Holiness” can find it in Luisa’s writings which are fully passed both at the diocesan level and by the Congregation of the Saints with full imprimatur. This grace had to be present in the apostolic era and it was in Mary alone. Hence the revelation was accepted which appeared ‘new’.

  27. Cnn likes to brand anyone who disagrees with their narrative a "conspiracy theorist." Anything that strays from the establishment's narrative is called a "conspiracy theory." Seems pretty convenient. I wish he would have brought that up. If the grand, most high, excellency did that, I bet a bunch of people would have rushed over to kiss his ring.

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