#682 - Bishop Robert Barron

Episode of This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von · September 10, 2026 · 1 h 53 min

Theo Von talks with Catholic Bishop Robert Barron about prayer, evil, love, addiction and pornography, the clergy abuse crisis, artificial intelligence, and finding purpose.

Summary

Theo Von hosted Robert Barron, Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Winona–Rochester and founder of Word on Fire Ministries. Barron described how bishops are appointed by the Pope without warning, recounted his early jobs and the influence of Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain, and explained Catholic views of God as the uncaused cause and of evil as a privation of good that God permits for a greater good.

Much of the conversation concerned the spiritual life. Barron recommended a daily holy hour of prayer, praised confession as psychologically healthy, defined love (following Thomas Aquinas) as willing the good of the other, and illustrated it with Maximilian Kolbe's self-sacrifice at Auschwitz. He criticized what he called a culture of self-invention, argued that objective beauty and great values draw people out of themselves, and lamented the loss of initiation rituals for young people. He described humility as a source of spiritual power that the devil cannot manipulate, and recommended performing the simplest act of love each day.

Von spoke openly about his own struggles with pornography, infidelity, drugs and overwork, and his recovery. Barron argued that pornography has damaged young people and marriages and said government intervention to restrict access is now needed. On the clergy sexual abuse crisis, Barron rejected the claim that celibacy produces abusers, described seminary psychological screening, the Virtus program and a zero-tolerance policy, and said the Church is now one of the safest institutions for young people.

The pair also discussed indulgences, the distinction between biblical Israel and the modern state, the Church's opposition to antisemitism and its political neutrality, Pope Leo XIV's views on artificial intelligence and surveillance, and Aristotle's and Fulton Sheen's idea of the "transcendent third" in friendship and marriage. The episode closed with Barron leading a prayer and Von describing his growing faith and Bible study in Nashville.

Chapters

0:00
Becoming a bishop
Barron describes his diocese, Word on Fire Ministries, and receiving unexpected papal appointments as bishop.
3:43
Thomas Merton and early influences
Barron recalls youthful jobs and how Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain shaped him.
6:29
Catholicism, God, and the problem of evil
Barron explains Catholic claims, God as the uncaused cause, and evil as a lack of being that God permits.
11:37
Prayer, honesty, and confession
Barron recommends a daily holy hour and the rosary and praises confession as an honest encounter with God.
19:30
Grace and selfless love
Barron defines love as willing the good of the other, citing Aquinas and Maximilian Kolbe.
27:39
Lost purpose, dark powers, and the body
The two discuss modern spiritual exile, institutional and spiritual evil, and the biblical affirmation of the earth and bodily resurrection.
44:10
Self-invention, beauty, and initiation
Barron criticizes a culture of self-invention, praises aesthetic arrest, and laments the loss of initiation rituals.
1:02:06
Humility and the simplest act of love
Barron argues humility is spiritual power and recommends daily acts of love and Thérèse of Lisieux's Little Way.
1:16:20
Pornography, addiction, and shame
Von shares his struggles while Barron calls for government intervention on pornography and describes conscience and shame.
1:29:39
Indulgences, Israel, and the abuse crisis
Barron explains indulgences, distinguishes biblical from modern Israel, and outlines the Church's response to clergy sexual abuse.
1:38:45
AI, Church power, and politics
They discuss Pope Leo XIV on AI, phone surveillance, the Tower of Babel, and the Church's nonpartisan stance.
1:45:41
The transcendent third and closing prayer
Barron explains Aristotle's transcendent third and Sheen's Three to Get Married, then leads a prayer as Von reflects on his faith.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Robert Barron
Barron argues that evil is not a thing but a privation of good, which God permits rather than causes.
“evil is frightening, but essentially it's a type of non-being. It's a lack of a good that ought to be there, like a cavity in a tooth”
Listen from 9:23 · Problem of evil
Robert Barron
Barron cites Jordan Peterson's view that confessing one's failures before a representative of God is psychologically healthy.
“I can't imagine anything psychologically healthier than that. Wow. And he was talking about Catholic confession”
Listen from 17:45 · Sacrament of Penance
Linked moment · 44:10Skip to 44:10 using a listen link in the info box.
Robert Barron
Barron says, based on studies and his pastoral work, that young people, especially young women, are being harmed by social media.
“young people, especially young women, are getting damaged like crazy on social media”
Listen from 46:06 · Social media and adolescent mental health
Robert Barron
Barron argues that modern society has many uninitiated people because religion no longer presides over coming-of-age rituals.
“I think we have tons of uninitiated people. They've not been brought through that process”
Listen from 57:40 · Rite of passage
Robert Barron
Barron says that when people write to him in despair, he recommends performing a daily simple act of love.
“I'll say, perform every day the simplest act of love”
Listen from 1:10:50 · Prayer
Theo Von
Von argues that pornography is being used to tear apart families.
“it's such a tool that's used really, I believe to like tear apart the American family and just families around the world”
Listen from 1:16:26 · Pornography
Robert Barron
Barron argues that Christians have lost their edge and that living by Christ's counsels would rapidly change the country.
“if every Christian in this country started living according to what we call the evangelical councils”
Listen from 1:19:06 · Catholic Church
Theo Von
Von says he has personally struggled with pornography and attended recovery meetings for it.
“I've gone to like different recovery, like, you know, meetings for it that my buddy runs”
Listen from 1:19:39 · Addiction and recovery
Robert Barron
Barron says pornography has become a societal blight and that government intervention to restrict access is needed.
“I think there does have to be some kind of government intervention when it comes to pornography”
Listen from 1:21:18 · Pornography
Robert Barron
Barron says indulgences remain a legitimate teaching but should never be bought or sold, as happened before the Reformation.
“So in itself, it's a legitimate thing, but not to be buying or selling”
Listen from 1:31:07 · Indulgence
Robert Barron
Barron distinguishes biblical Israel from the modern state and says Catholics may criticize Israeli government policy while the Church opposes antisemitism.
“a Catholic can certainly be critical of the government policies of the state of Israel, as we would have any other government”
Listen from 1:31:53 · Antisemitism
Robert Barron
Barron rejects the claim that the celibate priesthood produces people attracted to children.
“What I think is really false, the insinuation that somehow— the celibate priesthood produces people who are attracted to children. I think that's demonstrably false”
Listen from 1:34:38 · Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
Robert Barron
Barron contends that because of its reforms, the Church is now among the safest institutions for young people.
“I think it's fair to say that institutionally, one of the safest places for a young person is the Catholic Church because we're so attentive to the problem”
Listen from 1:37:31 · Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
Robert Barron
Barron says priests found guilty of abuse are removed under a zero-tolerance policy and that accusations are reported to police.
“we have a zero tolerance policy they're out of the you know the priesthood”
Listen from 1:38:15 · Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
Robert Barron
Barron predicts AI will take jobs, which he sees as a problem for human dignity tied to work.
“Jobs will be taken for sure by AI. And so if work is tied to human dignity, that's really a problem”
Listen from 1:40:30 · Artificial intelligence
Robert Barron
Barron argues the Church's global influence remains enormous, with the pope as the world's most recognized religious leader.
“The pope is the most recognized religious leader in the world”
Listen from 1:44:50 · Catholic Church
Robert Barron
Barron says the Church explains its positions during elections but never endorses a party.
“But we never say, therefore vote Democrat or vote Republican”
Listen from 1:45:37 · Catholic Church
Robert Barron
Barron, citing Aristotle, argues friendships and marriages flourish when the partners jointly love a transcendent third.
“a friendship will flourish when it goes beyond the two friends loving each other”
Listen from 1:46:13
Theo Von
Von says his relationship with God is currently the strongest it has ever been.
“most recently is probably the most that I've, like the strongest relationship I've had with God”
Listen from 1:50:00 · Christianity

People

In the conversation

Theo VonAmerican stand-up comedian and host of the podcast This Past Weekend
Robert BarronAmerican Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Winona–Rochester, theologian, author, and founder of Word on Fire Ministries

Discussed

Thomas MertonAmerican Trappist monk and spiritual writer, author of The Seven Storey Mountain
Fulton SheenAmerican Catholic archbishop and broadcaster, author of Three to Get Married
Maximilian KolbePolish Franciscan friar and saint who died in Auschwitz in place of another prisoner
Thomas Aquinas13th-century Dominican theologian and philosopher
Bob DylanAmerican singer-songwriter who invited Strings to play with him on tour
Jordan PetersonCanadian psychologist and author
G. K. ChestertonEnglish Catholic writer quoted on heresy
Thérèse of LisieuxFrench Carmelite nun and saint, author of The Story of a Soul
Francis GeorgeCardinal and former Archbishop of Chicago, mentor to Barron
John Henry NewmanEnglish cardinal, theologian, and saint
Augustine of HippoEarly Christian theologian and bishop
Pope Leo XIVHead of the Catholic Church
AristotleAncient Greek philosopher
W. H. AudenAnglo-American Christian poet

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From the publisher

Bishop Robert Barron is a theologian, author and Catholic Bishop for the Diocese of Winona–Rochester in Minnesota. He also started “Word on Fire” ministries and podcast of the same name. Bishop Barron joins Theo to talk about what the Catholic faith looks like in today’s culture, finding purpose in an increasingly artificial world, and the connection between faith and love. Bishop Robert Barron: https://www.instagram.com/bishopbarron/ ------------------------------------------------- Tour Dates! https://theovon.com/tour New Merch: https://www.theovonstore.com ------------------------------------------------- Sponsored By: Celsius: Go to the Celsius Amazon store to check out all of their flavors. #CELSIUSBrandPartner #CELSIUSLiveFit https://amzn.to/3HbAtPJ Acorns: Go to http://acorns.com/theo to get your $20 bonus investment today! Valor Recovery: To learn more about Valor Recovery please visit them at https://valorrecoverycoaching.com/ or email them at admin@valorrecoverycoaching.com Perplexity AI: Ask anything at https://pplx.ai/theo ------------------------------------------------- Music: “Shine” by Bishop Gunn Bishop Gunn - Shine ------------------------------------------------ Submit your funny videos, TikToks, questions and topics you'd like to hear on the podcast to: tpwproducer@gmail.com Hit the Hotline: 985-664-9503 Video Hotline for Theo Upload here: https://www.theovon.com/fan-upload Mail stuff to: ATTN: TPW PO BOX 40137 Nashville TN 37204 ------------------------------------------------ Find Theo: Website: https://theovon.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/theovon Facebook: https://facebook.com/theovon Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thispastweekend X: https://twitter.com/theovon YouTube: https://youtube.com/theovon Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheoVonClips Shorts Channel: https://bit.ly/3ClUj8z ------------------------------------------------ Producer: Zach https://www.instagram.com/zachdpowers Producer: Trevyn https://www.…

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 3, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Christianity·Religion & Spirituality·Philosophy