Is communism making a comeback in America? Bishop Barron revives Fulton Sheen’s 1950s, Cold War-era warning as the archbishop is beatified nearly five decades after his death

Over four decades after the death of Fulton J. Sheen, the American archbishop is set to be back in the limelight for reasons outside the Catholic Church.

While Sheen will be beatified at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis on Thursday, September 24, in a significant part of the Catholic Church's process towards sainthood, he is also being referenced in a new political debate in America over his vocal stance against communism.

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"Now, you don't need me to tell you that communism is making a comeback right now in our country," said Bishop Barron, according to a video obtained by Fox News Digital. "Now, you don't need me to tell you that communism is making a comeback right now in our country," he added.

In the video, Barron stated that today's Catholic leadership must learn from Sheen in terms of voicing their views regarding the resurgence of communism in the US.

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"And I think especially churchmen need, like Sheen, to raise their voices against it and, furthermore, as American churchmen, to speak out strongly on both American and Catholic principles against the re-emergence of this still very dangerous ideology," he said.

This comes in light of Sheen's legacy coming into focus before the beatification of Sheen that is likely to attract tens of thousands of pilgrims to St. Louis.

Those connections are being made by political actors and commentators, rather than representing a single consensus about how today's movements should be classified.

From a television pioneer to the path toward sainthood

Prior to the connection of his name to Cold War anti-communism, Sheen was already well known as one of America’s most popular Catholic broadcasters.

He was born in 1895, and he became very famous for communicating the doctrines of Catholicism through both radio and television broadcasting. His television show, titled Life is Worth Living, aired throughout the 1950s and won him an Emmy Award in 1953, according to Vatican News.

That media career is part of the reason Sheen's story remains unusual in American religious history. He was not simply a church official speaking to parishioners. He became a public figure whose sermons and discussions reached audiences far beyond Catholic churches.

Pope Leo XIV has highlighted that aspect of Sheen's career ahead of the beatification. To a general audience, the pope described Sheen as an example for people involved in evangelisation through the media.

The beatification itself is scheduled at the Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presiding on behalf of Pope Leo XIV.

Vatican News stated that there were about 45,000 pilgrims coming from 48 states of America and 12 other countries, along with many bishops and priests.

He passed away in December 1979; therefore, the ceremony will be held about 47 years after his death.

His formal journey toward sainthood began much earlier. He was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 after recognition of his heroic virtue.

In 2019, the Vatican authorised a decree recognising a miracle attributed to his intercession, clearing the way toward beatification.

Why Sheen's anti-communist writings are being revisited

Sheen's opposition to communism was a defining feature of his public life during the 1940s and 1950s, when the Cold War was reshaping American politics and international relations.

Barron told Fox News that Sheen regarded communism as fundamentally hostile to religion. Barron specifically pointed to Sheen's belief that atheism was central rather than incidental to communist ideology.

Sheen developed those arguments in his writing as well as his public appearances.

His 1948 book Communism and the Conscience of the West presented communism not merely as an economic or political system but as an ideology that, in Sheen's view, sought influence over people's moral and spiritual lives.

That distinction helps explain why the subject remains closely tied to Sheen's religious legacy. His opposition was not limited to a disagreement over government ownership or economic policy. He framed communism as a competing worldview with implications for religion, individual conscience and society.

Barron has now drawn a direct line from that historical position to contemporary America, telling Fox News that Sheen's voice is needed again.

That is Barron's interpretation of Sheen's relevance today, rather than an established assessment shared across the American political spectrum.

A Cold War argument meets today's political vocabulary

The renewed discussion around Sheen comes at a time when terms such as socialism and democratic socialism have become more visible in US political debates.

Fox News reported that Barron's remarks arrived ahead of the November midterm elections, amid arguments over the direction of the Democratic Party and the significance of recent primary victories by progressive and democratic socialist candidates. Republicans have cited those results as evidence of a shift within the party, while descriptions of individual candidates and movements vary depending on the political perspective.

That contemporary debate is different from the political environment Sheen faced in the middle of the 20th century.

Communism during Sheen's lifetime was closely associated with the Soviet Union and the broader Cold War rivalry between communist states and Western governments.

Today's American political landscape contains a range of movements and policy positions that use terms such as socialism and democratic socialism, and those terms do not necessarily describe the same political systems Sheen was addressing in his Cold War-era writings.

That distinction is significant when considering why his words are being cited now.

Barron is making a contemporary comparison based on what he sees as a renewed ideological challenge. Fox News reports that he believes Catholic leaders should speak against what he describes as the re-emergence of communism while defending both Catholic and American principles.

The claim itself is part of the current political and religious discussion rather than a settled conclusion about American politics.

The miracle that moved Sheen closer to sainthood

While Barron's comments have put Sheen's political legacy into the headlines, the immediate reason for Thursday's ceremony is the Catholic Church's recognition of his beatification.

The case includes the recovery of James Fulton Engstrom, an Illinois baby who was born without a detectable pulse in 2010. The Vatican recognised the event as a miracle attributed to Sheen's intercession in 2019.

Fox News has separately published an account from James' mother, Bonnie L. Engstrom, describing the circumstances surrounding his birth and his subsequent recovery. According to her account, medical personnel had attempted resuscitation before the baby's heart began beating again. She credits prayers seeking Sheen's intercession for what happened.

The recognition of this event by the Vatican was a significant move towards Sheen's cause for canonisation. It is the process in which an individual's life is thoroughly investigated, as well as the recognition of the miracle that qualifies him or her for beatification.

In addition, this ceremony encompasses various aspects of the life of Sheen: his religious ministry, his innovative use of the mass media, his writings during the Cold War period and the miracle that facilitated his canonisation cause.

Why Sheen's public voice still attracts attention

Sheen's career offers a reminder of how dramatically the relationship between religion, politics and mass communication has changed.

Television in the 1950s provided him with an audience that went well beyond the faithful of the Catholic Church. Today, people can reach out to their audiences through the mediums of television, podcasts, and digital videos, and even join political discourse immediately.

That makes Sheen's media career one of the more contemporary aspects of his story, even though his most famous political arguments were formed during a very different period.

Pope Leo XIV's comments before the beatification have focused on precisely this part of Sheen's legacy. The pope pointed to his work in media evangelisation and suggested that his example could inspire new approaches to communicating the Gospel.

Barron, meanwhile, has chosen to emphasise another part of that legacy: Sheen's opposition to communism and his belief that religious faith and democratic principles were connected.

As Sheen receives the title of Blessed in St. Louis, both aspects of his public life are likely to remain part of the conversation.

For Catholics, the ceremony marks a significant stage in the Church's formal recognition of Sheen. For historians of American religion, it also brings renewed attention to a bishop who became a national television personality and prominent Cold War-era commentator.

And for today's political debate, his writings are being brought forward by Bishop Barron as a historical reference point for arguments about communism, religion and American democratic principles.

Nearly 47 years after Sheen's death, that combination of religion, media and politics has given his name a new place in the American conversation.