Catholic Bishop Says His Role for the Trump Administration is to Formulate Public Policies

On May 21, 2026, Catholic Bishop Robert Barron was interviewed by Colm Flynn of EWTN, the Catholic broadcasting network, where he discussed his involvement in the White House Religious Liberty Commission. Barron stated that his role as a member on the commission is to help formulate policy recommendations for Donald Trump. He also claimed that he encourages the many Catholics serving in the Trump administration to view their role in government as an opportunity to bring the teachings of Thomas Aquinas and Catholic thought into public policy and government.

Bishop Barron made the following statements during the video interview.

• Colm Flynn: “When you were approached by the Trump administration and they invited you to be part of President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, what was your reaction and why did you decide to say yes?” (Video).

• Bishop Robert Barron: “Yeah, they’re inviting a Catholic bishop to be a voice around a table when public policy on an issue is very central to us bishops—we’ve been talking about it for thirty-five years now—they’re inviting a Catholic bishop to be a voice around the table in the formulation of this policy. Why would I say no? Now, I know all the familiar objections, but see, to me, the overriding thing was: I say no, now we’re taking a Catholic voice away from that process” (Video).

• Bishop Robert Barron: “Here’s another distinction I’d make. People have said to me, ‘Uh, well, now you’ve been in the Trump administration.’ I’m not in the Trump administration. The Trump administration would be people who are charged with implementing Donald Trump’s policies—like Rubio and Vance and many others. I’m on the other side of that process, if you want — not implementing the policy. I’m making suggestions regarding the formulation of policy. I’m there to help shape policy. So I say something, I don’t care in a way if you don’t like it, okay fine, I’m just making my contribution. Why would I be hesitant or afraid to bring the Catholic perspective to bear?” (Video).

• Bishop Robert Barron: “And I’ll say this: the commission was great. I spoke my mind in every setting. Lots of Catholics in the president’s administration. A lot of them know me from my social media work, so they’ll come to me, and I said to them, ‘Bring Thomas Aquinas into your public life,’ by which I mean, bring these great moral and spiritual principles that indeed undergird our democracy, but make them a lively presence in the work that you do. I think that’s the role of Catholics in government” (Video).

What Bishop Robert Barron described is the active effort to bring Catholic moral philosophy and theological principles directly into the policymaking process of the United States government. Roman Catholicism is being positioned as a guiding influence within the highest levels of American government. Bible prophecy warns that, in the last days, there would be an increasing union between religious power and civil authority. Revelation 13 describes a system in which the Catholic Church and Protestant America unite to cooperate to shape public policy, influence society, and eventually enforce religious principles upon the world.

Thomas Aquinas was one of the chief architects of medieval Catholic political theology, which taught that the state should cooperate with the church in promoting religious truth and suppressing error. Historically, these ideas helped justify the idea of Papal supremacy, a system described in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. America was founded upon principles of religious liberty and separation of church and state. Yet today, there is a growing movement to redefine America’s future through religious nationalism and Catholic social doctrine.

The rise of Catholic voices within national policy discussions, especially under the banner of “religious liberty,” can never be ignored. These developments should awaken God’s people. The final movements described in prophecy develop gradually as public opinion, politics, and religion move closer together. We must remain spiritually awake, grounded in Scripture, committed to the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14, and prepared to stand for the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus in the closing scenes of earth’s history.