Catholicism Project, Part 2

Bishop Roberts Barron, head of Word on Fire media and the visionary behind the "Catholicism" series, told FOCUS his hope is that the films will be used "as a tool of evangelization for everybody." "I want the series to go out beyond the walls of the Church." Set in 50 locations in over 16 countries, the series examines major themes within the Church such as the person of Christ, the mystery of God, the Virgin Mary, Saints Peter and Paul, the missionary thrust of the Church, the liturgy and the Eucharist, prayer and spirituality and the saints. Bishop Barron said that the series comes at a time when the U.S. is going through what he believes to be "the darkest period in the history of the American Catholic Church," and that the "wrong" people are telling the story of what the Church actually is. "I think Catholics from the inside have to tell a much richer, broader, fascinating story." He noted that during challenging times in Church history, the saints "tended to come forward in the times of crisis and bring things back to their evangelical basics." The Chicago priest, who also holds the Francis Cardinal George Chair of Faith and Culture at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, said the project has taken close to four years to complete since its inception. "The priest expressed his desire that people who are "not religious at all - maybe they're atheists, agnostics, fallen away Catholics - would see the series and maybe be drawn in by the beauty of it, drawn in by culture, drawn in by history."