Following an attempt on his life on July 13, former US president and official Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump nominated Ohio senator James David (J.D.) Vance as his running mate on the Republican election platform in November this year.
“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump announced in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, and cited by various media outlets, including National Catholic Register (NCR).
“J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association.”
Received into the Roman Catholic Church in 2019, Vance, the author of the bestselling “Hillybilly Elegy” detailing his childhood of poverty and abuse,is scheduled to be the second Catholic Vice President of the United States if Trump wins the November election. During a 2019 interview with conservative writer and personal friend Rod Dreher that was featured by The American Conservative, Vance testified his hopes for the future, rooted in the truth of the Catholic Faith:
“…one of the things I love about Catholicism is that it’s very old. I take a longer view. Are things more daunting than they were in the mid-19th century? In the Dark Ages? Is it as daunting as having a second pope at Avignon? I don’t think so. The hope of the Christian faith is not rooted in any short-term conquest of the material world, but in the fact that it is true, and over the long term, with various fits and starts, things will work out.”
When Dreher asked Vance how his Catholic faith would influence his views on public policy, the current V.P. nominee for the Republican Party replied at that time:
“My views on public policy and what the optimal state should look like are pretty aligned with Catholic social teaching. That was one of the things that drew me to the Catholic Church. I saw a real overlap between what I would like to see and what the Catholic Church would like to see. I hope my faith makes me more compassionate and to identify with people who are struggling. But my politics have been pretty consistent over the past few years. I think the Republican Party has been too long a partnership between social conservatives and market libertarians, and I don’t think social conservatives have benefited too much from that partnership.”
Indeed, on various occasions, Vance has voiced his support for the Catholic notion of subsidiarity as espoused by Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical “Rerum Novarum” and Pope Pius XI in “Quadragesimo Anno”.
Catholic news sites like Catholic Herald described Vance as a “firebrand” pro-life Catholic convert, declaring that “Vance is about as polar opposite a ‘Catholic’ as can be compared to Joe Biden, the current occupant of the White House.”
In a piece published in First Things titled “JD Vance, Religious Populist”, author Matthew Schmitz characterized the Ohio senator as one of the last vestiges of hope for maintaining Christianity in the American political landscape, in wake of assaults by radical leftists. Schmitz cited Vance as saying:
“We have to recognize that America is not just a principle. It is a group of people. It’s a history. It’s a culture. And yeah, part of that story is that people can come and assimilate. But if your attitude is that . . . the only thing you need to become an American is to believe that with a little bit of hormonal therapy a man can become a woman, then you’re making it so that massive numbers of your own country either need to be re-educated, or need to be cast out of the political community.”
Likewise, Catholic news sites like Catholic Herald described Vance as a “firebrand” pro-life Catholic convert, declaring that “Vance is about as polar opposite a ‘Catholic’ as can be compared to Joe Biden, the current occupant of the White House.” Adding, the Catholic Herald article said:
“Biden’s re-election campaign is backed by the pro-abortion political group Planned Parenthood. Vance, by contrast, strongly supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the US Supreme Court and has opposed abortion rights in almost all cases (including rape or incest) with the only exception being when a pregnant mother’s life is at risk.”
“Vance’s populist political capital lies in his affinity and support from white rural farmers, and working-class voters in the Rust Belt, where he was brought up, especially in the Mid-Western swing states such as Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which Trump needs to secure – and now looks well on track to win over after he survived an assassination attempt in extraordinary circumstances – to return to the White House,” Catholic Herald elaborated.
Furthermore, as Anne Bradley wrote in the Acton Institute, Vance, much like Trump, Vance positions himself as an “outsider” of the Washington elite, hailing from a broken home and working class background in rural Ohio.
According to “Hillybilly Elegy”, Vance’s grandmother, “Mamaw”, enabled him to work hard and eventually enter Yale Law School, as well as become a senator even before turning 40. Thus, Vance’s background could appeal very much to many American voters, given his story of poverty-to-prestige.
Having said that, faithful Catholics and pro-lifers who have been rightfully alarmed about Trump’s “softening” stance on abortion, are likely to also raise their eyebrows following Vance’s apparent support for the abortion pill mifepristone to be “accessible”.
However, Vance’s contentious stance on abortion pill access is seemingly not discouraging some Catholics from backing Vance as “an exceptional selection” for pragmatic reasons, as per reports by Fox News.
To a considerable degree, the youthful Vance appears to be providing a glimmer of hope for America’s future. After all, many voters (save for hardline leftists) are fed up with Washginton’s “woke” elites, their persecution of traditional Christian values on faith and morality, their incendiary rhetoric, their draconian attempts at suppressing dissent, as well as their war-mongering tactics.
Dreher reinforced Bradley’s view in another article, stating:
“And now, a poor white boy from Appalachia, who didn’t really know his father, whose mom was drug-addicted, and who grew up raised rough by his grandparents, has reached this summit. Ain’t that America?”
Having said that, faithful Catholics and pro-lifers, such as Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Lila Rose, founder of Live Action, who have been rightfully alarmed about Trump’s “softening” stance on abortion, are likely to also raise their eyebrows following Vance’s apparent support for the abortion pill mifepristone to be “accessible”.
However, Vance’s contentious stance on abortion pill access is seemingly not discouraging some Catholics from backing Vance as “an exceptional selection” for pragmatic reasons, as per reports by Fox News.
For instance, Tony Schroeder, a resident of Ohio’s Catholic Putnam County, hailed Vance as “a man of the people” and “a man of faith”, in comments quoted by NCR.
Notably, Schroeder acknowledged he was “comfortable” with Vance’s recent remarks backing the abortion pill, telling NCR:
“I know his heart and what side of the argument he is on with that, and the same way with President Trump. What we wind up with in national elections is a binary choice. [Trump and Vance] are by far the best choice for faithful Catholics.”
Similarly, NCR interviewed Frank Pavone, the director of Priests for Life and anti-abortion activist who was controversially dismissed from the priesthood in 2022, who stated that he was “not disturbed” by Vance’s statements about the abortion pill.
“The Supreme Court is not finished with that case, so I think this is the normal response we should expect from politicians at this point, especially on the national level,” Pavone stated.
Thus, while the killing of unborn babies is not to be permitted in all cases, Vance seems to be the lesser of the two evils (when compared with the virulently anti-life incumbent V.P., Kamala Harris).
Also, what stood out for many observers was how Vance’s relative youth (as compared to the Biden-Harris duo) could make the race for the American presidency all the more compelling and hair-raising. As Catholic Herald put it:
“Since Trump can only constitutionally serve one more term, if elected in November, speculation is mounting in Washington, DC’s Beltway and beyond that Vance – known as “JD” (based on the initials in his full name of J. D. Vance) similar to how John F. Kennedy was known as “JF” in addition to ‘JFK’ – is now the clear favorite to become the Republican nominee to run for president in 2028. If Vance were to enter the White House, this would make Vance – who would still be under 45 – the third US Catholic president and the third youngest in US history.”
Vance can be juxtaposed with the ailing and aging Biden, the latter who has been intransigent in maintaining his grip on power despite numerous calls (both domestically and internationally) for him to step down.
To a considerable degree, the youthful Vance appears to God’s instrument providing a glimmer of hope for America’s future. After all, many voters (save for hardline leftists) are fed up with Washginton’s “woke” elites, their persecution of traditional Christian values on faith and morality, their incendiary rhetoric, their draconian attempts at suppressing dissent, as well as their war-mongering tactics.
Despite leftists’ countless attempts to vilify and persecute Trump and the values he claims to defend, support for Trump continues (if polls are to be relied on).
People are fed up with the Left’s demonization of pro-life Christians, as well as its normalization of violence and vitriol. Voters in America need a change, and voices on the Left and on the Right know that.
People are fed up with “woke” gender and DEI ideologies that also undermine parental authority on their children. White people, both in the United States and beyond, are sick of being told that they should be “guilty” for being “white”, just as non-white people are tired of being told to “use their race card” to get ahead in life.
People are fed up with years of authoritarian and arbitrary COVID-19 lockdown measures, the top-down imposition of experimental COVID-19 shots, as well as other insidious attempts at state censorship.
People are fed up with the Left’s demonization of pro-life Christians, as well as its normalization of violence and vitriol.
Voters in America need a change, and voices on the Left and on the Right know that.
By extension, Vance’s youth in the political sphere also reminds us of how Catholic youth, unlike many of their predecessors born in and growing up in the hippie ‘60s, are embracing Catholic values and the pre-Vatican II Traditional Latin Mass like never before.
In 2019, the New Liturgical Movement (NLM) site published a report, titled, “ Tradition is for the Young: EF Mass at the National Catholic Youth Conference”. The article detailed how many young participants of the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) attended a “Mass in the Extraordinary Form”:
“The celebration was a Solemn High Mass in honor of St Cecilia, Patron Saint of musicians, and Palestrina’s Missa Brevis was sung; also noteworthy is the fact that the vestments were made by the celebrant himself. The choir stalls in the sanctuary were filled with priests, religious, and seminarians attending in choir. Most significantly, the church itself was filled to overflowing with young people! In fact, two extra ciboria had to be put out to accommodate the large number of attendees.”
In 2021, the NCR ran an article, titled, “3 Reasons Why the Latin Mass Is So Attractive to Young People (According to a 22-Year-Old)”, extolling the “beauty” of the Traditional Latin Mass as “something that has been going on for thousands of years” and reflecting “God’s perfection”.
In 2023, the Catholic Arena site quoted Cardinal Robert Sarah regarding the popularity of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) with young people:
“I also can testify to this reality from many encounters with young people― lay men and women, religious, seminarians, and priests―whose vocations in the world either to Christian marriage or to the religious or the apostolic life are grounded in and nourished by the older liturgical forms in a truly life-giving way. In this respect, I can never forget my visit to the Paris-Chartres Pentecost pilgrimage in 2018: what hope these young people give to the Church of today and of the future!”
True enough, as The Remnant’s well-produced documentary on the Notre-Dame de Chrétienté Pentecost Pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres can testify, the annual Chartres pilgrimage has been teeming with young participants for years.
As narrator Michael Matt stated in the aforementioned documentary, the Chartres pilgrimage today is a “youth movement”, reflecting the “youth and vitality of the Traditional Catholic Restoration Movement”. Besides, the average of the Chartres pilgrims is “just 20 years old”, worshiping God in the Traditional Latin Mass, Matt added.
Just like their Chartres counterparts, many young pilgrims have been taking part in the recently started “Nuestra Señora de la Cristiandad” pilgrimage to the shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Covadonga in Spain, adoring God and honoring his Holy Mother in the same pre-Vatican II Roman Rite of the Mass.
Unfortunately, a Vatican notification has mandated that this year’s pilgrims would not be able to attend the beautiful Latin Mass in the great historic shrine of Covadonga, unlike in previous years.
Yet these young Covadonga pilgrims are not to be daunted. Rather than being bitter towards the Roman authorities for denying them the opportunity to attend Holy Mass at the Blessed Virgin Mary’s shrine, instead of opening challenging the legitimacy of Pope Francis who calls Latin Mass youth “rigid”, the pilgrims whom this author interacted with so far seemed to be optimistic and excited about their upcoming expedition.
The trek to the venerable shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Covadonga will be an arduous one, amid the undulating landscape of Spain’s Asturias region. By God’s grace, nonetheless, pilgrims old and young will attend the theocentric Traditional Latin Mass in various permitted spots praying for the Church and the Roman Pontiff, as well as chant beautiful hymns of praise to the august Mother of God, “Ave, ave, ave Maria…”
“Introibo ad altare Dei. Ad deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.”
(“I go into the altar of God. To God who gives joy to my youth.”)
