Where Are You Catholics?–Told You They Weren’t Coming Back

Last updated on: December 15, 2021 at 11:07 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Where Are You Catholics? A little riff on a famous Christmas song: Where are you Catholics? Why can’t I find you? Why have you gone away? Back in June 2020, I wrote an article that prophesied Catholics would not return after the pandemic. (See: www.patheos.com/blogs/ericbarr/2020/06/catholics-they-are-not-coming-back-unless/). The Church had lifted the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. Zoom Masses took the place of on site attendance. Communion services to believers who stayed in their cars–sort of like drive-in sacraments–were common.... Read more

Johnny We Hardly Knew ‘Ye–Remembering John Denver (d. Oct. 12, 1997)

Last updated on: October 12, 2021 at 3:22 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Memories I was surfing YouTube the other night, and I came across the one celebrity over whose death I wept. Tuesday, October 12 marks the 24th anniversary of the death of John Denver. He passed away on a Saturday afternoon in a terrible plane crash over the Pacific Ocean—why do so many song artists die that way? I poured a glass of Glenlivet Scotch, sat down in my rocking chair, put on some John Denver tunes and cried like a... Read more

Et Cum Spiritu NoNo–The Demise of the Traditional Latin Mass Experiment

Last updated on: July 17, 2021 at 6:43 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

This opinion piece will not be tactfully phrased. There have been many essays in the past few days that look at the broader issues of the new motu proprio issued by Pope Francis concerning the traditional Latin Mass trying to balance both positive and negative views. I wanted to write a piece that reflects my experience from the trenches. Perhaps that will help some understand the issues that motivated Francis after he asked for the opinions of bishops from around... Read more

Unsullied: Why Pope John Paul II Is Still Both Saint and Great

Last updated on: November 23, 2020 at 1:21 am By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

On the Warpath to Destroy St. John Paul the Great I can’t stand hateful trolls. And nowhere are they more present than on the warpath to dethrone Pope John Paul II as both saint and one of the great popes. The National Catholic Distorter has most recently tripped my trigger by calling on the Vatican to suppress the cult of St. John Paul II in the United States. Why? Because this newspaper and others of its ilk in the national... Read more

Ridin’ With Biden–On The Road To Perdition?

Last updated on: August 30, 2020 at 3:34 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Ridin’ With Biden So much chatter about this that I thought I would put my own two cents in. It’s not that difficult, really. Trying to see into Biden’s soul is impossible and not right for us to do. Attempting to say why Biden or Trump may be a better president than the other one would take a different kind of article. But saying whether Biden is representative of who and what a good Catholic should be is easy. Is... Read more

Plague Consequences: The Unchurching Of Catholics And What To Do About It

Last updated on: July 8, 2020 at 8:46 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Pandemic Changes This is the summer of our discontent. Like a long rolling wave in the midst of the sea, the coronavirus surges and ebbs. It is deterred not by lockdowns or openups, temperature or vacation plans. Guess what? Looks like we will have to live with this wretched illness, just like we live with all the other coronaviruses. Oh, we’ll get a vaccine fairly soon, but it won’t fare any better against this plague than against the flu–we’ll just... Read more

More Than Just A Fallen Statue–The Oppression of Tolerance

Last updated on: June 29, 2020 at 5:05 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

What Iconoclasm Is It’s more than just a fallen statue–whichever toppled statue you wish to talk about. Iconoclasm–the erasing of images, is a wave that overcomes society every once in a while. And it is never a good thing. Here’s why: Very Selective Capricious–The mob judges someone an unforgivable sinner, but lets other famous people, worse than they, continue to be honored with images and statues. A great example of this is Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood,... Read more

Pandemic Inertia In The Church

Last updated on: June 22, 2020 at 9:03 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Remember What Happened To The Church After The Black Plague The last pandemic that paralyzed the world wide Catholic Church was the Black Plague of the 14th century. You could excuse that paralysis since about half of Europe perished in that pestilence. That was very bad. Just think of what it did. First of all, it killed off the best and brightest of the leadership of the Church. The holy priests and nuns who ministered to the sick died... Read more

Catholics: They Are Not Coming Back…Unless…

Last updated on: June 17, 2020 at 7:29 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

They Are Not Coming Back They’re not coming back to Mass. Let me say it again. Catholics will not come back to Mass when the pandemic is over. I know, parishes will say that their wait lists are full and they are at max capacity for Sunday Mass right now. But that’s right now, when we can only have a hundred people, or a congregation of 25-35% of a church’s capacity. We priests have all heard the yearning of... Read more

The Two-Edged Sword Of Hypocrisy–The Archbishop And The President

Last updated on: June 3, 2020 at 8:19 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Two Difficult Days For Presidential Photo-Ops It was awkward, there on the public sidewalk outside the Church of the Presidents, holding a Bible. The next day, it wasn’t. That day, it was truly a moving private moment with a man and woman kneeling in front of a relic of Pope St. John Paul the Great. I’m talking about the two photo-ops that caused such consternation recently: the President holding up a Bible in the midst of a riot torn city,... Read more