Two prominent American bishops share their hopes for the church, discuss the struggle and talk baseball

By Anna Dougherty

(OSV News) — Behind the scenes of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, and Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, chatted in a hotel conference room.

During their conversation they talked about their hopes for the church, their personal problems, and they laughed about their rival baseball teams.

The conversation — moderated by former ABC, NBC and Fox affiliate anchor and reporter Andrew Hansen, who now directs the Office for Communications for the Diocese of Springfield — was released July 24 on the Diocese of Springfield’s “Dive Deep Podcast” YouTube channel. The 35-minute video generated more than 2,000 views in 24 hours.

“It’s very rare to have two prominent bishops in the United States together, especially one of them who is one of the leading evangelicals (and) one of them who is a leading canon lawyer,” Hansen said, referring to Bishop Barron and Bishop Paprocki, respectively. “I think it would be refreshing for people of faith to hear their perspectives in the same room. I think they would gain a lot of insight.”

Bishop Barron and Bishop Paprocki became friends when they were both young priests in Chicago, and they maintained their friendship when they were sent abroad for additional studies.

Bishop Paprocki said the podcast reflects their deep friendship.

“It was also really fascinating how much Bishop Barron and I had in common. We would say something and the other person would agree with it, or maybe it would just go a little deeper or in a little different direction. It just showed that we also have a lot in common in terms of our beliefs and values,” he told OSV News in a July 24 interview.

“I’ve always found him very easy to talk to. He’s obviously very smart and very intellectual, but I think one of his gifts, in particular, is that he can take very complex, intellectual, philosophical concepts and put them into words that people can easily understand. He uses sports analogies, for example,” said Bishop Paprocki, who also enjoys sports. He has run 24 marathons and plays goalie in hockey, earning him the nickname “the Saint Goalie.”

In a July 20 Facebook post, Bishop Barron called the podcast “an illuminating conversation about the primacy of Christ.”

The podcast used a unique format in which Hansen asked each bishop a series of “most important” questions. He asked them to identify “the most important thing a couple should do to keep their faith and marriage alive” and “the most important thing parishioners can do for their parish,” among nine other questions.

Both bishops said that the problem of evil is the greatest issue they personally struggle with.

“How do you reconcile great suffering … with the existence of an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-powerful God? … I have wrestled with that as I have wrestled with struggles and difficulties and tragedies in my own life,” Bishop Barron said. He said the book of Job, which addresses this very question and is “at the heart of our biblical tradition,” has helped him answer it.

Bishop Paprocki referred the question of evil to the cross and the resurrection.

“Ultimately, our Lord told us that we were going to suffer,” he said, “and we are expected to carry our cross. Sometimes, by undergoing that suffering and carrying the cross, we achieve the great glory that our Lord has promised us.”

Both bishops also stressed the importance of the Eucharist, adoration and the Mass for spiritual growth for both families and individuals. Bishop Barron called the Holy Hour “the best thing we can do to draw closer to the Lord.”

“It has revolutionized my life in a way,” Bishop Barron said. “The Holy Hour is now central to my own spiritual life.”

Bishop Paprocki said that receiving the Lord in Holy Communion is the best thing we can do to draw closer to God.

“He (God) comes directly into our hearts when we receive Him in Holy Communion,” Bishop Paprocki said.

The “Dive Deep Podcast” — the only diocesan podcast presented on the Eternal Word Television Network’s “Podcast Central” webpage — has 94 podcast episodes available on YouTube. One of its episodes, featuring Bishop Poprocki discussing President Joe Biden’s Catholicism, has been viewed more than 445,000 times to date.

Viewers of the interview with Bishop Barron and Paprocki responded mostly positively.

“This podcast is fantastic. Both Bishop Barron and Paprocki demonstrate their important role in guiding believers to the work of evangelization in their spheres of influence,” said one viewer.

“It’s nice to see two giants of the Church sitting together,” said another commentator. “Deo gratias!”

Anna Dougherty writes for OSV News from Texas.