Vice President JD Vance is currently the rock star of the conservative Catholic world. His youth, style, upbringing, conversion, young family, and proximity to President Donald Trump have collided to make him the runaway favorite in a CPAC poll ranking the potential 2028 GOP presidential candidates.
When Vance was announced as a special speaker at the March for Life on January 24, 2025, he instantly overshadowed the previously announced keynote, Governor Ron DeSantis, a fellow Catholic and one of the most successful pro-life politicians our nation has known.
It would not be a surprise, then, if several Catholic colleges hope to invite Vance to deliver a commencement address and receive an honorary degree this May.
But should they? Can they?
In 2004, the American bishops issued the 2004 letter Catholics in Political Life that offered instructions on how Catholics should combat abortion in the public arena. The letter included a strong prohibition:
The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions. (Emphasis in original.)
The choice of commencement speakers and honorary degree recipients falls under this directive. Each spring, for two decades, certain Catholic universities have defied the bishops’ directive and invited abortion-supporting public figures and politicians. Most prominently, the University of Notre Dame invited President Barack Obama to give the commencement address in 2009. The university faced tremendous pressure internally and externally to rescind the invitation, yet President Obama spoke anyway and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
In some instances, bishops have pressed universities to rescind these ill-advised invitations. On rare occasions, they triumphed, as did Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, Massachusetts, in 2012, over Anna Maria College.
For politicians supporting abortion, the case against their participation in commencement and their reception of honors is straightforward. Their public stance directly contradicts the Church’s clear teaching concerning an intrinsically evil action. Typically, they not only support abortion but also declare themselves proudly in favor of “women’s rights” and “reproductive freedom.” Often, they even refuse limits on abortion, from mandatory waiting periods to parental notifications to protections for babies who survive botched abortions. In their public roles, they function as agents of the culture of death.
Vance, by contrast, presents a unique case. On the one hand, as I detailed here in August, Vance was a proudly pro-life senator for two years until he was selected as President Trump’s running mate. Then he quickly adopted Trump’s pro-choice views: he expressed his clear support for mifepristone, the abortion drug, as well as his support for IVF.
With these positions, he placed himself squarely at odds with Church teaching. On these grounds, he should not be honored by a Catholic institution.
Yet since being sworn in as vice president, Vance has enthusiastically jumped back into the pro-life camp. His speech at the March for Life was brilliant. He commended marchers for coming “to celebrate our movement,” pointing to himself as he said this. He then articulated the movement’s mission, again including himself within it:
We march to protect the unborn; we march to proclaim and live out the sacred truth that every single child is a miracle and a gift from God…. Now the task of our movement is to protect innocent life. It’s to defend the unborn and it’s also to be pro-family and pro-life in the fullest sense of that word possible.
He then called for the building of a culture of life in America, a culture that the government should help support:
So let me say very simply: I want more babies in the United States of America. I want more happy children in our country, and I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them. And it is the task of our government to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford to have kids, to bring them into the world and to welcome them as the blessings that we know they are here at the March for Life.
He concluded with this: “But one of the things that being a father has taught me, and one of the things that being in politics has taught me over the last couple of years, is that it is a blessing to know the truth. And the truth is that unborn life is worthy of protection.”
Who, then, is the real JD Vance? The one on the campaign who, to win an election, deemed unborn life dispensable? Or the one who declared that it is the truth that unborn life is worthy of protection? The vice president is a political enigma: an abortion-supporting politician who desires “to protect innocent life” and “to defend the unborn.”
Certainly, the Vance of the March for Life is worthy of honor from Catholic institutions. The Church proudly honors many saints who sinned horribly in their past, yet later went on to perform heroic works for God.
These saints, though their sins and later accomplishments vary, have one thing in common: they all repented of their sins. They asked God for forgiveness, which was the necessary precondition for their conversion and subsequent growth in sanctity.
Vance, given his public stature and how widespread his abortion and IVF-supporting campaign statements have traveled, has to follow the example of these saints and repent publicly of his immoral stands to eliminate the scandal they caused. He need not do this dressed in sackcloth and sitting in ashes. Any tactic, even a subtle one, he chooses to renounce these immoral positions will do, as long as the faithful understand that he has done so.
Then, and only then, can Catholic colleges pay the vice president the honors that he will truly deserve if he can live up to his own lofty rhetoric delivered at the March for Life.
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This is a non-issue. If B. Hussein Obama, a liberal democrat who supported abortion up to 9 months, could speak at Notre Dame, then Vance can speak at a Catholic university. Unless we’re applying a double standard, that is.
It’s an issue. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
Thank you. That is PRECISELY the point.
And, frankly, as someone who has sat through countless graduation speeches, let’s get rid of all political speeches. The speeches should be encouraging; they should be funny; above all, they should be BRIEF. NO ONE IS THERE TO HEAR THE SPEAKER. None of these ceremonies are shorter than 90 minutes, and some of them approach 3 hours — do what is necessary to honor the graduates and their families, but please keep the grandstanding to an absolute minimum.
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
I completely agree with that sentiment. And I absolutely agree the J.D. Vance should not speak at a Catholic university like your Alma Mater, the University of Dallas that consistently adheres to Catholic ethics. But is Notre Dame genuinely Catholic like UD where all theology faculty have the mandatum? This question has been kicked around for a long, long time.
In 2023, Notre Dame University President Fr. John Jenkins defended a school-sponsored drag show, citing “academic freedom” over the objections of students. This would be unthinkable at UD. Notre Dame also has some designated gender-neutral bathrooms. Notre Dame has a group called “Free2Pee ND, a coalition of Notre Dame.” Going back further in time, there was the infamous Father Richard McBrien who held the Crowley-O’Brien Professor of Theology at Notre Dame. McBrien, published an article in the National Catholic Reporter in which he criticized the practice of eucharistic adoration by calling it “a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward”.
As far as Obama’s commencement address goes, we should note that the serial abuser Theodore McCarrick delivered the address the year before and the lying news anchor, Brian Williams, delivered it the year after. Bill Cosby delivered the commencement address in 1990. OK, Williams’ and Cosby’s flaws were revealed after they appeared at Notre Dame but even I, in 2008, knew that something was fishy about McCarrick.
Two wrongs don’t make a right – nor do many wrongs make a right. But I think that Professor Bonagura’s question, “Can JD Vance deliver a commencement address at a Catholic university?” while sincere, is ultimately disingenuous. I say that because J.D. Vance (and President Trump) are not being denied an invitation to Notre Dame because of their stance on IV, but because of their political views across a wide range of issues. I also say this because Notre Dame obviously doesn’t always make decisions in the light of the Church’s teaching. I’m fine with Vance not speaking at Notre Dame; I think his position is sinful. I’m not fine with defending ND’s decision not to invite him based upon their “Catholicity.”
Except it’s not two of the same wrong.
Obama was relentlessly devoted to almost everything opposed to Christianity and sat in a “Church” where the “Pastor” took the Lord’s name in vain.
Now I am sure some Catholics see unlimited entry of foreigners as the pre-eminent Catholic value (forget CCC 2241) but many of those same people financially benefitted from it as well. Moreover, many thought his advocacy of “universal healthcare” (because government is magic and can suspend the prime economic law that everything is scarce) was “Christian”, when in fact it was closer to state idolatry
It has been said that politicians are coreless. That is largely true. However, that cannot be said about Obama. He has a core, and it is Marxist. Now of course, unlike the present Bishop of Rome, I am not “allergic” to economics and don’t consider Marxists as Christians in training.
Personally, I’m with the other poster that said get rid of these commencement addresses altogether. I am soon to be four decades removed from my undergraduate address, and I don’t remember anything the speaker said other than “you won’t remember” much/all of what I say today.
And I didn’t say it was the same wrong. But IVF is a serious evil, and supporting it is a serious problem for a Catholic politician. I think there is much to like and praise about Vance. But he’s very much in the wrong on this importance issue.
As for Obama and Notre Dame, I wrote plenty of pieces back in the day about that egregious scandal. For my recent thoughts on the “Affordable Care Act,” see this post.
Personally, I haven’t seen any quotes where JD Vance expressed his own views on mifeprestone or IVF, rather than giving the administration’s intended policy, with the exception of one where he specified his agreement in having states determine abortion – which goes to method, not to preferred policy. As VP, he doesn’t get to make the decisions, so we can’t convict him based on the actual policy.
He’s a bit muddy, but I don’t think muddy constitutes an act “in defiance of our fundamental moral principles”. This is hardly Joe Biden presiding over a gay marriage or Nancy Pelosi voting for federal funding for abortion.
Is Notre Dame REALLY a “Catholic university?”
I know that their Catholic alumnae are fanatical supporters of their sports teams (e.g., wearing Notre Dame sports jerseys to Mass on game days–even priests wearing the sweatshirts under their cassocks!)–nothing wrong with any of that IMO, but…it seems that every time we turn around, something non-Catholic/non-Christian is happening at Notre Dame.
Or is the non-Catholic stuff just a fringe of the Notre Dame students, faculty, and alumnae, and most of the university is solidly Catholic?
Of course, I would also question the “Christian” for some Protestant “Christian” colleges and universities.
A decade or more ago, I interviewed at St. Leo’s in Florida. The dean was unable to say what differentiated St. Leo’s from, say, Stetson University; she could not or would not say it was anything to do with a Catholic identity. And when I asked how the university would have been different if it had been founded by someone other than Benedictines, she had no answer.
I knew I was not going to get the job after asking those questions. I also knew we would both be happier with me not getting the job.
Honestly, this has been my experience with most “Catholic” universities. A real Catholic — student or faculty — is better off at a small state universities.
“At a 1967 conference in Land O’Lakes, Wisconsin, then university president Fr. Theodore Hesburgh hosted a gathering of Catholic educators to discuss the future of Catholic university education in America.
The result was what became known as the Land O’Lakes Statement, which asserted that Catholic universities, in order to fulfill their purpose, must have complete academic freedom and expression, unfettered by the limits of Church teaching or the exercise of ecclesiastical authority.
The document has been cited in the subsequent decades as a kind of Magna Carta for dissenting faculty on Catholic campuses, advancing the claim that Catholic schools can and should provide a home for ideas and arguments outside of and even against the Church’s teaching.”
-The Pillar, 9/13/24
JD Vance and other pro-life politicians are in a conundrum. If they go 100% pro-life, they face the very real possibility of losing to rabid pro-abortionists. But if they “moderate” their pro-life stance, they have a better chance to win and limit the evil of rabid pro-abortionists until such a time when the majority of hearts and minds can be converted.
Even John Paul II recognized that it was better to win a partial pro-life victory than to lose completely:
“…when it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and morality. This does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects.” Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae
This is the sad fact of American politics today due partly to the meek catechesis by Catholic hierarchy and the scandalous welcoming of pro-abortion politicians to the Vatican and giving them smiling photo ops with the pope.
The Catholic hierarchy beginning with the pope need to do much more faithful catechizing and witnessing to the pro-life truths they supposedly claim. Only when Catholics and others are better catechized and inspired will it be possible for JD Vance and other pro-life politicians to more strongly advance the pro-life cause.
I appreciate your perspective. There are practical realities you mentioned when running for office that need to be considered.
Thank you, Athanasius 🙂
Maggie;
WELL said. Thank you – small steps.
Amen.
🙂 Thanks!
Thank you, Terrence 🙂
Uh huh. Kind of like it’s better to offer the pinch of incense to Caesar so you can stay alive, and then later maybe you can just go to Confession, huh?
That’s not how an evil empire is converted. That’s also the straight road to Hell.
So Vance being too much of a coward or a political chameleon to witness to the inherent dignity of the unborn is actually not his fault at all? Ha!
I love the Catholic Trumpers who contort themselves to pretend that some aspect of MAGA being at odds with Catholic moral theology is actually no big deal or really just the fault of somebody or something else. Amazing stuff, Maggie.
I heard from 2 different people that they were “not voting for a Messiah” — as though protecting the unborn required supernatural virtue rather than some minimal attention to the requirements of the law that are written on their hearts. This is not walking on water, people! Maybe they don’t see him as a MESSIAH, exactly, but criticize Trump, and they respond with all the equanimity of a Muslim when Mohammed is criticized. Trump is their Prophet.
Of course they’ll respond by thinking this means I support the Democrats, with all the logic of Dallas Cowboys fans who think that any criticism of Jerry Jones must come from Redskins fans. Sorry, but I don’t have to be a fan of the NFL to see that Jones is a trainwreck, and I don’t have to have a political party to see that Trump’s first term was a parody of what it means to be a conservative, and Trump’s second term is a parody of what Trump was in his first term.
Ugh. I would be so much happier if we could go back to the forgettable, barely competent presidents who never pretended to be kings. This, sadly, is what a republic looks like when it is dying.
I agree with you. Pres. Trump and VP Vance are saints regarding abortion when we compare them to Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Pres. Trump has five children, for heaven’s sakes! And both he and VP Vance had all of their children present for the inauguration!
I agree with the idea that it is better to compromise, at least at the beginning of a campaign to restore respect for human life, than to insist on policies that many people, even pro-life people, are uncertain about. We need more apologetics about IVF and its wrongness, and it must be presented with compassion to those Christians who are ignoring their church and pursuing IVF in order to have children. Let God do the work in their hearts and minds to convince them of the wrongness of this procedure. He’ll do it.
And one thing that will help promote adoption is a stronger economy that provides a better living for families in the U.S. Pres. Trump is definitely on track for that, compare to the “tax and spend” policies of the Democrats and many Republicans.
I don’t think a totally pro-life President/VP would get elected, so we have to be realistic and elect the candidates who are likely to do the “least harm” to the unborn and their mothers.
And many of the current administration’s policies are much more “pro-family” and “pro-religion” than a Harris/Walz administration would have foisted upon us. E.g., I am very grateful for the cuts to the Education Department–I think that schooling should be administered by states, local governments and local folks, not government bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. Because of the geography of the U.S., with many different climate zones and landscapes, each state should be responsible for running their schools, and they should delegate as many as possible of the tasks of education to the towns and cities in their states, as it’s the locals who know what’s needed to make sure their children receive a good education that will prepare them for the rest of their lives in this country and in the world.
I’m also thankful and grateful that the Trump Administration has gotten rid of DEI requirements for schools and workplaces. I believe that many students have been ripped off in their education by the requirement to include DEI education and policies in their curriculum and policies, often at the cost of basics like math, reading, science, history, etc. I also think the DEI policies have devastated girls’ and women’s sports, and I’m grateful that the Trump Administration is working to eliminate this madness and encourage families to get legitimate help for their confused children.
And whenever anyone criticizes Pres. Trump’s economic policies, I always keep in mind that he has been working in and running an extremely successful business since he was a young teenager (his father required him to work with the men building his houses and apartments), and he knows more about the economy than most of the politicians who have been lawyers and who have been on the taxpayers’ payroll for much of their lives (e.g., Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois).
Is Pres. Trump a saint? Far from it! But then, many of our Presidents have had “moral lapses” (e.g., Pres. Thomas Jefferson). And so have many of us, every day.
Pray for our President, VP, and the Trump/Vance Administration. They have a tough battle with liberals and anti-family lobbyists, as well as with the entertainment world, the education world, and much of the news media.
Trump is successful at filing bankruptcy to avoid paying what he owes—don’t think I would describe him as a successful businessman.
That’s been a part of doing business though. I don’t believe it’s unique to Donald Trump.
It’s perhaps not your or my preferred way of doing business but it’s worked for Mr Trump.
And Hugh Hefner is a saint compared with Charles Manson. How much do you think that will profit him on the Last Day?
The Last Judgment is not on a curve.
So what is Vance? A 60 % pro-life politician, 50%, 70%? I was following Vance long before many Catholics ever heard of him, having great hopes that he could be the pro-life voice Catholics needed, fully pro-life and articulate enough to actually stand his ground at 100%, because that is what is needed (and sadly, that is what he is capable of more than anyone I have heard defend the pro-life position since Santorum). And your point is an equivocation. You speak of what is needed for a full political victory and then switch gears to talk about what is needed for a partial pro-life victory exposing your presupposition that somehow a lessening “conservative” party will always be a pro-life victory as long it beats a pro-choice one. (This is not at all what JPII was speaking about). Of course, a Biden/Harris win would have been a loss for the pro-life movement, but I would like to see at least some who take this “moderate” position admit that in the states (since the “conservative” position is now the libertarian notion of “back to the states”) there were more pro-choice victories in the last election cycle in the states and that this federal victory is therefore not a pro-life victory per se when the “winners” own state-centered policy resulted in losses. The “moderate” position in fact has nothing to do with the pro-life process of actually working to “limit the harm done” since it washes its federal hands over the issue and doesn’t lift a finger at the national level (Trump knows he won’t lose any votes for rescinding Mexico City and Geneva). Just the fact that “conservatives” are leaning to Vance over DeSantis means there is more at play here, such as populism over conservatism and non-interventionism over engagement. These are legitimate issues too, but we need to admit that they bespeak a change in the conservative movement; one that appears it may be more willing each and every election season to spill out a little more protection of innocent life in order to “win”.
Most alleged Catholic colleges are really not Catholic at all. Most of their faculty and staff are not Catholic and those who pretend to be Catholic don’t really practice the faith as the Church prescribes. The mission of most Catholic colleges don’t align with the mission of the Catholic Church. So, why would Vance be at all interested in speaking at one of the many faux Catholic colleges? If Vance were to speak at any Catholic college, he’d be well-advised to choose one of the Newman List Catholic Colleges.
“So, why would Vance be at all interested in speaking at one of the many faux Catholic colleges?”
Because he fits in. He sold his soul — only figuratively, I hope — to have chance at an office that has accurately been described as not worth a warm bucket of spit. Don’t compare him with other politicians; that’s not the point. Compare what he was as Senator Vance with what he is as VP Vance.
Outis, get a hold on yourself.
So you have no rebuttal, but still want to write something.
Wait at least a couple of years to see if he is honest about the Faith.
Politicians can be very slippery smooth.
VP Vance is not a life-long politician living on the taxpayers’ dimes until fairly recently.
He highly intellectual and wrote Hillbilly Elegy, which was deservedly a huge bestseller. Read it–it’s good and true. My mom was born to hillbilly parents. Thankfully she and all her 8 siblings broke away from that life.
As for his faith–many MANY MANY !!!!! fanatical advocates of abortion, DEI (especially school curricula that includes classes in DEI as well as DEI policies regarding school sports, clubs, etc.), LGBTQ+ “rights”, “transition surgery” for children and teens, higher taxes for working Americans, are CATHOLIC!! Speaker Nancy Pelosi comes to mind–she ripped up Pres. Trump’s State of the Union address in clear view of national TV viewers–God help her! And Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois is Catholic– he’s 80 years-old, one of the most powerful Senators in Congress because he’s been a Senator for 29 years–and the west side of his hometown of East St. Louis in Illinois is a disgrace!–a “no-man’s land” of criminals and street gangs that should be torn down and the ground salted!
Go after THOSE Catholic politicians and demand that they repent or resign! (Nancy Pelosi has retired, thank goodness!) Leave VP Vance alone until he demonstrates consistent anti-Catholic behavior and advocates consistently for anti-Catholic, evil policies like many of the Catholic elected officials have done. God help them! And God help our country!
He might not be a life-long politician, but he WAS a US senator. His stance on abortion turned out to be negotiable when he got to trade up to be VP. This puts him in a similar position to the woman in the joke that ends, “We have already established what kind of woman you are; now we are just haggling about the price.”
The only consistent principle I detect in Mr. Vance is his commitment to his strong personal ambition and strong desire for personal advancement.
He was anti-IVF until that impeded his personal advancement and then was pro-IVF.
In 2016, Mr. Vance wrote to a friend: “I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical a**hole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler.” Then, shortly thereafter, when it was politically advantageous for him to renounce that statement and others like it that he made, he renounced them.
Mr. Vance is good at playing the game.
Anonymous: As are the majority of Catholics good at “playing the game.”
Most Catholics wouldn’t be able to recognize a person of integrity if their life depended on it.
Let’s face facts:
1. A majority of those who call themselves Catholics support abortion on demand
2. Our Pope and his some of his clergy approve of blessing homosexual relationships.
3. A majority of Catholics contracept in their marriages.
4. A majority of Catholics believe that sex outside of marriage is not sinful and engage in the practice.
5. I can only conclude that a majority of Catholics are hypocrites.
Now, we can listen to Catholics judging VP Vance.
I would have no problem with people judging Vance, as long as the same ruler was used on other Catholic Politicians. See especially my state’s now gone Senator Casey. Excluded by the Clintons from speaking at the 1992, he “evolved” in conformity with the new realities of his party.
My position on politicians is that they are best likened to diapers (location and content) and should be changed frequently for the same reason.
Who knows God’s will? All we can do is humbly trust & hope in His divine mercy.
Ananymous, the publishing of your statement gives me hope.
Hope in what? Elections have consequences. You should examine your own heart. Someone who supports progressives(you) has no moral authority and no credibility to be criticizing others. Remove the beam in your own eye first…
Let’s face it: No one holds major office without playing that game. I wish it were otherwise.
By the time Trump’s 4-year term ends, there will be upwards of 6 million IVF embryos discarded WITH THE APPROVAL of Vance and Trump over that period alone. (https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257066/more-human-embryos-destroyed-through-ivf-than-abortion-every-year) That’s the same number usually given for Jews killed in the Holocaust, but that’s an unfair comparison, right? Maybe God the Father, who knows whenever a sparrow falls, simply won’t notice, eh?
God will notice for sure but many people are still unawares of the destruction of human life in IVF clinics. They see IVF as prolife.
The question put here isn’t whether, because one clown (an absolute non-model for Catholics) was invited to speak at Notre Dame, another one should also put on stage at a Catholic University. By any account, Vance not only denies Catholic values and doctrines, he desired to reinvent them and manipulate Catholic by wearing his “Catholicism” on his sleeve (just as Biden did). This only makes him more dangerous to young Catholics.
Vance’s problems go much further than his support for abortion and IVF. He is in league with the “Dark Enlightenment” mob which, through Thiel, Musk, etc are creating a deep state much worse than anything before seen in the U.S.
Vance has proudly attributed his worldview to Curtis Yarvin several times. Yarvin is one of the worst figures in the occultist “Dark Enlightenment” gang, which includes Yarvin’s big buddy, the satanist Nick Land. Keep Vance away from our universities. Bad news.
How does Mr. Vance support feticide?
So all you have to offer here are unfounded conspiracy theories? Give me a break. The progressives you support have created the deep state, as DOGE is making readily apparent.
Vance’s problems go much further than his support for abortion and IVF. He is in league with the “Dark Enlightenment” mob which, through Thiel, Musk, etc are creating a deep state much worse than anything before seen in the U.S.
???!!! Really, sir?
And what Dark Enlightenment organizations were Pres. Biden and VP Harris involved in? They certainly accomplished a lot of anti-Christian things while they were in charge of the U.S.A. Did YOUR daughter have to use a bathroom at school where boys were also present? Did your grade-school children never learn to read at grade level, but know all about Drag Queens? And did any of your female relatives procure an abortion with no problems because of the liberal abortion laws under the Biden/Harris administration?
Next we’ll be talking about the Illuminati here, who probably control Pres. Trump and his administration, right?
Really?
I will grant that Pres. Trump and VP Vance are flawed people like all the rest of us, and have made some questionable (to Catholics and Evangelical Protestant Christians) comments, and have involved non-politicians like Elon Musk (who is brilliant, by the way) in the U.S. government–good for them for doing that!
But evil? In league with the powers of darkness? I’m not buying that. To me, this seems like a child telling his parents that his teacher is an evil witch because she is requiring him to behave in school, listen to the teachers, and get his homework done.
Let’s wait and see, shall we? And be grateful that we don’t have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz destroying our country with their ultra-liberal and truly evil policies.
A very malignant case of TDS Miguel.
The Bishops themselves have to gain back credibility. How they handled the Biden presidency and other “catholic” congress people is abysmal in itself. Clean your own house first.
No need to wait and see. Vance tells himself who gave him his worldview; their ideas are evil. If Vance considers Yarvin a “friend” and a fundamental influence on his ideology (https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/18/jd-vance-world-view-sources-00168984), without the least criticism of Yarvin’s evil ideology and his close connection to the satanist Nick Land (look up the connection), then Trump’s VP has only himself to blame for parading his ideological proclivities for all to see and obliging us to draw logical conclusions. By all means ask him to tell us those conclusions are wrong. You’ll have time for more than one beer while you wait for his answer.
As for Vance’s Catholicism, he claims in the same article in Politico that his conversion resulted from the influence of Rene Girard (to which he was introduced by another of the bunch, Thiel). But Girard’s ideas are not even Christian. He claims that Christianity “desacralised the world”, that it should not use the language of sacrifice to refer to Christ, and that Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews was an aberration which should even be included in the Bible (for this reason). Girard claims that sacrifice is the missing link between humans and animals, something we share. One can only speculate on what religion means for Vance and Thiel.
(Vance supports abortion because he supports IVF. He also supports allowing states and the federal government to make whatever provisions for abortion they think appropriate (short of end of term abortion) because “We have to accept that people do not want blanket abortion bans. They just don’t”. Well, the majority of “people” in the U.S. do not want any number of fundamental things demanded by Christianity)
There’s nothing conspiratorial about this deep state – it’s all being done in the open. Their arrogance is nurtured by the knowledge that conservative ideology has left those who should be complaining without ideological defences. “Religion” for this crew is all about preserving the vocabulary and externals of religion while emptying and reinventing its content. This is something the left was not able to do – believers could recognise woke nonsense a mile off. But Christians are mostly unaware of what the Trumps, Yarvins, Links, Musks, Vances, and Thiels are doing.
Pope Francis supported pro abortion Catholics Biden and Pelosi! He also favored Harris over Trump!
Question – Is Nancy Pelosi scheduled to speak at any ‘Catholic’ commencements this spring?
No one should listen to a syllable the Bishops have to say about this or frankly anything – 90% of them supported the most radical abortion supporter in history in Joe Biden – NOT ONE Bishop censored him or even spoke out against him.They openly support every “catholic” pro-abortion democrat politician.They openly facilitate illegal immigration and human trafficking!!! They have lost ALL moral authority…
The Bishops are hypocrites! They are OK with controlling who speaks at a Catholic college, but they are afraid of controlling who receives the Holy Eucharist. As Shepard they are failures. They should consecrate on matters of faith and stay out of the political arena!
“Then and only then”. When he passes your muster, let us know. The rest of us will continue to live in this world.. Susan Ciancio describes that world in her article (Facts about the danger of the Abortion Pill Regimen) also found in the Catholic World Report. Rather than the liberal political views that you express, her article describes a society of women so desperate to end their pregnancies that they endanger their own lives by taking mail-order pills.63% of abortions begin with a kill pill followed by the expellant pill and end with a toilet flush at home. The conditions of your rhetoric are meaningless in bathrooms of America.
I notice how quiescent some Catholics are about Church teachings when the politician in question is a Catholic who’s a Democrat. When republicans get elected, the morality police in the Catholic Church go bananas. And here I’m referring to bishops and other clergy, as well as so many Joe and Mary Pewsitters.
Good observation. The lack of insight they demonstrate would be amusing if it weren’t so dangerous.
I agree, Catholic Colleges are taking positions in violation of Catholic principles. I am a parent still trying to understand the Gen Z ideology. My Siena College sons might know. But how can a true Catholic align with John Donald Vance when he genuflects before the throne to kiss the ring of his mentor, a convicted felon? That ring is covered with the saliva of MAGA loyalists and many Catholic Bishops. Ironically, the Catholic jury is still out on their devotion to Trump, a man without integrity or morals. Vance’s bloviating that the Haitians were eating dogs in Springfield, Ohio, is telling? Mayor Rob Rue and Governor Mike DeWine said, “it was a lie”.
The Vance family is visiting Greenland in response to Trump’s announcement of a takeover of that island. Denmark has said, “it is not for sale. Vance has been silent on Trump’s urge to make Canada our 51st state. Trudeau and New PM Carey said, “Like hell”.
VP Vance broke the Senate Confirmation hearing tie by voting for highly unqualified DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Yemen war “Signal Chat” forum intelligence breach proved he is truly in over his head. Vance took part in that illegal and publicly exposed session.
Vance is no Evangelist or Catholic spokesman.
It seems like the native Greenlanders should have the last word on that. Goodness knows they haven’t been served well by Denmark in the past.
Canada’s unlikely to support joining in with the USA but their constitution does have provisions for provinces to secede. A few folks in Alberta said they were ok with that notion recently.
Greenland played a role in WWII and was occupied by the US after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. It was a place where weather stations could be setup to aid in the planning and routing of ships and shipping, among other installations. The War of the Atlantic was crucial to securing shipping routes of war fighting men, military supplies, and equipment going to the European Theater of operations. There was also the mineral cryolite that was mined. From what I’ve read Greenland is still a strategically important location from which to keep tabs on Russia and China’s activities in the area.
morgan, I’d suggest that you ask J. D. to vacate the premises of your mind. He’s consuming too much space there. If you do that, there’ll be more space for Christ.
I have plenty of SPACE for both. Perhaps you should watch this space more often!
A Catholic wishing to become more informed about the thinking and principles of J.D. Vance might wonder why Vance has, as a close friend and advisor, Peter Thiel, a gay-married billionaire tech businessman (rather than having, as a close friend and advisor, a loyal, informed Catholic such as George Weigel, Bishop Robert Barron, Professor Larry Chapp, or Carl E. Olson).
PETER THIEL FACTS:
–Thiel is legally married to another man, Matt Danzeisen, since 2017.
–While married to this man, Thiel had a sexual boyfriend, Jeff Thomas, who Thiel had living in Thiel’s mansion since 2019. Thiel supplied all of this lover’s material needs and lavished him with expensive gifts. In 2023, this lover died in Thiel’s mansion, apparently of suicide, shortly after witnessing an argument between Thiel and Thiel’s husband. (SOURCE: The Daily Mail newspaper.)
–Thiel explained in a 2009 essay that he had come to “no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible” (SOURCE: Wikipedia, and specifically this: “The Education of a Libertarian”. Cato Unbound. 13 April 2009. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2023.)
–Thiel is a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group,[99] a private, annual gathering of intellectual figures, political leaders, and business executives.[100] (Source: Wikipedia)
–Thiel, who is gay,[101][102] has supported mostly conservative gay rights causes such as the American Foundation for Equal Rights and GOProud.[103] He invited conservative columnist and friend Ann Coulter to Homocon 2010 as a guest speaker.[104]
–In 2012, Thiel donated $10,000 to Minnesotans United for All Families, in order to fight Minnesota Amendment 1[107] that proposed to ban marriage between same-sex couples there.
–By February 2022, Thiel was one of the largest donors to Republican candidates in the 2022 election campaign with more than $20.4 million in contributions. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)
–Thiel has claimed to be a Christian of some sort. Thiel says he follows the late Rene Girard, a cultural anthropologist who reduced all religion to mythological dynamics that can be explained by means of human psychology similar to the psychological explanations of religion given by Sigmund Freud. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)
TO BE FAIR:
I acknowledge J.D. Vance’s notable achievements in the military, in academics, in writing and publishing, in politics, and as a husband and father. He’s very intelligent and talented. In many ways he’s a better man that I am. I bow to his accomplishments.
Yet, given his documented track record of flagrant, self-serving flip-flops, and given his close associations with highly destructive, perverse, and immoral people, I would never trust him.
So, to say that Vance is like most politicians and is no worse than Joe Biden or AOC (both of whom claim to Catholics, I think) is not much of an endorsement.
Where did all the honest, moral, decent Catholic politicians and statesmen go?
Didn’t the loyal Sons of the Church used to provide a certain stability and decency to American governance?
I read the Daily Mail, too. For better or for worse. Mostly worse.
Anonymous, if you pray hard enough you might get the opportunity to vote for Kamala again. Then you can let us know how well she (or any other Democrat candidate) conforms to your moral standards. I’m sure you’ll inform us.
“Where did all the honest, moral, decent Catholic politicians and statesmen go?”
They didn’t go anywhere. They have never existed.
Mythical creatures for sure.
🙂
This is why the Church at its higher levels – pastoral and academic – has lost its relevance to most Catholics. We know why they are silent about certain politicians, and why they rend their garments about others. And it has nothing to do with theological or moral clarity. It’s the same reason McElroy is archbishop of Washington. Which raises the same question for our noted scholar and author: should McElroy be a (commencement or otherwise) speaker at a Catholic University? I look forward to the esteemed professor’s thoughts in writing.
A Catholic who does not keep their Baptismal Promises would be an oxymoron . Refusing to abide in The Word of God, ipso facto separates oneself from communion with Christ and His One, Holy, Catholic, And Apostolic Church. The Catholic Church is under attack from those who are no longer Catholic because they desire to change The Deposit of Faith and desire to create a god in their own image. By doing away with The Charitable Anathema, which Christ Himself Instituted, Vatican II, did , in fact, change The Deposit of Faith, and thus this grievous error must be corrected, least it continue to appear that it is possible for a counterfeit church, with a counterfeit pope, and a counterfeit magisterium to subsist within The One Body of Christ, denying that The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity, Through The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque), Is The Author Of Love, Of Life, And Of Marriage, which is Apostasy.
“You cannot be My disciple, if you do not Abide in My Word.” Jesus The Christ
https://www.ncregister.com/news/mary-mcaleese-commencement-invite-to-st-mary-s-college.
All this who-hah will be over within 10 years. You will not see men dressed in cassocks. Long gone will be the sacred vestments with their extravagant fabrics dripping in gold. The Roman Catholics will no longer have fancy prelates, like the bishop, who no longer make up some fake thing to confess to a priest. The people will awaken and find all these myths and drivel gone, and they will be free.
It is not up to any politician to uphold or promote Catholic dogma, doctrine or moral teaching. It is up to the Church itself. Apparently it has not been up to the task now for — how long?
Further, I would appreciate the list of Catholic theological departments in institutions of “higher learning” which are producing faithful adherents of Roman Catholicism. By and large they appear more fluent in hubris than the Faith.
You hit the bullseye, James
Another disqualifier for JD Vance as a speaker is his support for Israel’s murderous ethnic cleansing campaign against the Palestinians.
Just another Zio-Catholic.
I like Zio-Catholic. Thank you. Maybe I can find a bumper sticker with that for my truck. 🇮🇱❤️🇻🇦
🙂
Chris Albrecht: You must have been in a very long and deep sleep around Oct 7th of 2023.
He wouldn’t deliver a commencement address at my university. If I were an unborn baby, I would not be the least bit reassured listening to his comments, wondering if today he’ll be Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde. Pro-life people have to start getting tough. As I have repeated here and elsewhere, the abortionists never compromise. Why should pro-life people always have to be the ones to compromise? You can’t deliver 90% of a baby. The baby killed in the womb isn’t helped by whatever expedient political compromise was made. And while Vance may be better than some of the other alternatives, he’s hardly a hero worthy of adulation.