Mamdani is sworn in as mayor on a pair of family Qurans. (Amir Hamja/Pool via Reuters)
"He said he intended to replace ‘the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.’ Collectivism in its various forms is responsible for the deaths of at least 100 million people in the last century," Barron wrote.
"For God’s sake, spare me the ‘warmth of collectivism.'
"Socialist and communist forms of government around the world today — Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, etc. — are disastrous," explained Barron. "Catholic social teaching has consistently condemned socialism and has embraced the market economy, which people like Mamdani caricature as ‘rugged individualism.’
"In fact, it is the economic system that is based upon the rights, freedom and dignity of the human person."
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces his first executive orders Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Fox News/Pool)
The third executive order created a SPEED task force, which Mamdani said stands for Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development. He said the task force will work to remove permitting barriers that slow housing construction.
Both task forces will be overseen by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Lila Joseph, he said.
Mamdani has also been criticized for revoking all orders issued by his predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, including one that barred city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel.
Another rescinded order had directed the NYPD to bolster enforcement near religious sites by establishing protest-free buffer zones near churches, synagogues and mosques.
NYC MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI DOUBLES DOWN ON NETANYAHU ARREST PLEDGE
A podium prepared for an election night event with Zohran Mamdani, a New York City mayoral candidate, not pictured, at the Brooklyn Paramount theater in the Brooklyn borough of New York Nov. 4, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
These revocations were criticized by the city’s right-leaning Jewish leaders.
Mamdani has been accused by critics, such as Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., of being a terrorist sympathizer.
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He has repeatedly described Israel as an apartheid state, accused it of committing genocide in Gaza, and said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested. Mamdani has also said he will not tolerate antisemitism in New York and vowed to increase funding to combat hate crimes.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bishop-robert-barron-slams-zohran-mamdani-warmth-collectivism-line-for-gods-sake