EXCLUSIVE: At President Donald Trump’s „Rededicate 250“ prayer event on the National Mall this weekend, Bishop Robert Barron will address the „marginalization of God“ and religion in society, which he said he considers a „true threat to democracy.“
Rededicate 250 is a major prayer event set for Sunday as a way of „rededicating“ the nation as „One Nation Under God“ ahead of America’s 250th anniversary. The event, which is being organized by the Trump-aligned „Freedom 250“ nonprofit, is expected to include the president, White House Cabinet members and major faith leaders.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Barron, perhaps America’s most well-known and beloved Catholic bishop, revealed that his address at the event will emphasize his belief that „if you marginalize and privatize religion, democracy is in danger.“
„God is essential to the very foundations of American democracy,“ he asserted. „There’s a lot of talk today about the threats to democracy, that is a true threat to democracy, the marginalization of God.“
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Barron explained that many of the societal ills seen today are due to this cultural separation from God.
„Take God out of the equation, what are you left with? Radical self-choice. Welcome to wokeism. Welcome to the culture of self-invention. ‘I make myself up, values is up to me, my gender, it’s up to the whole structure of my life, it’s my choice,’“ he said. „That’s deadly to our democracy.“
„Religion belongs to the very fabric of our democracy, that’s the theme of my talk,“ he said.
Barron said he will begin his speech by invoking Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
„We know from the early written versions [that] Lincoln didn’t have the phrase ‘under God’ when he said that this nation might have a new birth of freedom. But when he delivered the speech, he said this nation ‘Under God might have a new birth of freedom.’ So, what prompted Lincoln, as he was giving the Gettysburg Address, to add that phrase?“ he said. „You could say, ‘Oh, it’s just a little pious declaration.’ No, no, no, I think that’s born of a very, very deep and correct intuition, America is a nation that’s conditioned by these great values, moral values, spiritual values that come finally from God.“
Barron argued that one of America’s most foundational ideas — that all men are created equal — is a novel concept made possible only by Christianity.
„We’re not equal in any way. Look at the classical political philosophers; they would never affirm the equality of all people. We’re not equal in intelligence or moral virtue or beauty or courage or anything. We’re radically unequal. So where does this come from?“ he asked. „Why would you go from we’re not equal at all to it’s ‘self-evident that we’re equal’? And the answer is in that little word, ‘created,’ that ‘all men are created equal.’ So, despite all our differences, we are all equally children of God and then endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.“
This second concept of all possessing inalienable rights, Barron argued, is a uniquely Christian idea imbued in America’s values.
„No one in the classical world believed that. Aristotle didn’t, Plato didn’t. Cicero didn’t, none of them,“ he explained. „Look in societies more recent that don’t believe in God. Go to Soviet Russia, go to communist China, everyone has rights? No way.“
„Where do they come from?“ he said. „Well, Jefferson gives away the game. They’re endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Take the creator out of the equation, rights will go out in a minute. So, Lincoln’s intuition to say that this nation under God would have a new birth of freedom, God is essential to the very foundations of American democracy. If you marginalize and privatize religion, democracy is in danger.“
Barron said he will also address the nature of freedom itself.
„It’s a very modern sense of freedom that it means spontaneous choice, I’m free if I could just do whatever I want,’“ he said. „But see, the founding fathers were trained both biblically and classically; they did not understand freedom that way.“
„Freedom is more like this, it’s an ordering of desire toward the good, so as to make the achievement of the good first possible and then effortless.“
He pointed to mastering a new language or the piano as examples.
„Think of the way you become a free speaker of a language, not by talking any old way you want, but rather internalizing the laws of the language. How do you become a free player with the piano? Not by doing whatever you want, but by internalizing the structure of music.“
„That’s the kind of freedom we’re talking about,“ he said. „It’s the moral freedom to become the person you’re meant to be, that you can now effortlessly achieve the good, that this nation under God might have a new birth of freedom.“
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Bishop Barron to address ‘true threat to democracy’ at Trump prayer event 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-05-16 10:03:09 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
