As head of the global media ministry, Word on Fire, Bishop Robert Barron is on a mission to draw people into the Catholic faith. Today, April 21, at 2 pm (ET) he is going to what Pope Francis refers to as “the peripheries,” in a real-time question-and-answer session on the social media platform, Reddit.
This is the third time Bishop Barron has hosted a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything). The incredible response among professed non-believers to the previous events seems to indicate a thirst for (or at least a curiosity about) something deeper and more meaningful in their lives.
In 2018, as the first Catholic bishop to host an AMA, he received over 11,000 comments, ranking behind only Bill Gates and Jordan Peterson.
The following year, he ranked third in the number of comments (15,000), behind only Beto O’Rourke and Bill Gates.
As in past years, expect a lively conversation among users who the Word on Fire website describes as “young, intellectually curious, and largely nonreligious.”
“This is a great opportunity to introduce countless ‘nones’ to Christ and his Church,” says the Word on Fire web post on the event.
In Bishop Barron’s previous AMAs, users — many of whom were self-identifying atheists or agnostics — posed questions addressing the Church’s position on various issues.
A small sample of a previous AMA with Bishop Barron included questions on the Bible as divine text, the possible existence of alien life, the clergy sexual abuse scandals, sin, and The Lord of the Rings.
The many subjects covered included the “Prosperity Gospel” (Bishop Barron opposes it), and Evolution (he believes in it), and how can an agnostic can become a believer in today’s world.
To tune in, ask a question, or just upvote or downvote comments, register at Reddit and visit the subreddit, r/iAMA now.
And today we celebrate...