Bishop Barron sounds alarm over growing influence of socialism, communism in US politics

Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, warned the faithful June 29 not to be complacent amid what he described as the growing political success of U.S. politicians who identify as “extreme socialists or communists,” arguing that communism is fundamentally hostile to religion and to America’s founding principles. 

In a statement on X, Bishop Barron said he has been “alarmed” by the rise of such politicians because recent political changes are “not a matter of classical liberals triumphing over standard-issue conservatives” but represent “the victory of people who stand athwart the fundamental principles that undergird our country.”

He said his opposition to communism is rooted partly in the ideology’s hostility to religion. Citing Karl Marx’s claim that “the first critique is the critique of religion,” Bishop Barron said Marx believed that religion had to be “taken down” before society could be remade politically and economically. 

“This is because religion, as he saw it, is the ‘opium of the masses,’ a drug taken to dull our sensitivity to the suffering caused by economic exploitation,” the bishop wrote. “As long as the suffering populace is lured into complacency by fantasies about God's providence and the promise of eternal life, they will never rise up and throw off their chains.”

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Beyond that, Bishop Barron said communism also targets religion because it seeks total control over society, including government control over “education, entertainment, communication, politics, and especially economics.”

“What stands resolutely athwart this ambition is religion, which declares that all of these societal expressions are finally under the judgment of God,” he wrote. “So, if you want Communism to succeed, religion has to be stamped out.”

He urged readers to test that claim against history, pointing to China, Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Venezuela. 

“Might I encourage my fellow believers in God not to be complacent in the face of this very troubling development in the American body politic?” Bishop Barron concluded.

CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt praised Bishop Barron’s message in a response on X and pointed to CatholicVote’s opposition to politicians who support socialism and communism.

“Communism and socialism destroy souls, families, and nations,” Reinhardt wrote. “That is why CatholicVote will be leading the charge against candidates that run on these evils. The common good demands our courageous witness. No more silence.”