Bishop Barron: young people are hungry for the kerygmatic message of Christianity

Listen to the interview in the audio version.

Bishop Robert Emmet Barron has been Bishop of Winona-Rochester since June 2, 2022 and is also well known as the founder of the Word on Fire ministry.

We asked him what reaction he expects the new generations will have to the Jubilee and sought his thoughts on the evangelical significance of the Holy Year and the value of hope.

Your Excellency, How do you think the young people of this generation will react to the idea of the 2025 Jubilee, given that this is a generation that has never experienced or witnessed such an important and international event of faith?

“I think young people would really like the idea of meeting up in Rome. I think the idea of bringing the whole world here would be very attractive.

After all, Rome is the center of the Church and bringing the young people of the world here, I think they would find that really exciting. And they definitely need it. Because a lot of social media is isolating in a way. So something that can bring the kids together as a group, I think that would be wonderful.

Do you think this Jubilee will help the Church's evangelization work in the years to come? What is the Gospel significance of this great event?

In my opinion young people are hungry for religious truth. They are immersed in the acids of nihilism, atheism and a sense of indifference. There is no true moral value...

Hearing the message that God exists, that God loves them, that Christ died for their sins, that he rose from the dead, the great kerygmatic message of Christianity … in my opinion kids are hungry for that message. So I would bring them here and proclaim that message to them.

In this delicate moment of conflict and suffering, what is the value of Hope, the central theme of the next Jubilee?

I believe that Christ is our only hope. If we respond to violence only with violence, the violence will never end. But Jesus offers us a way out, which is the way of non-violence and turning the other cheek.

It’s the way of the cross in which God takes upon himself the violence of the world but does not respond with violence. Rather, He responds with Mercy. This is the message the world absolutely needs to hear.