The new issue of Vanity Fair magazine has an article called “Behind the Catholic Right’s Celebrity-Conversion Industrial Complex.” Written by Kathryn Joyce, it argues that when a wave of celebrity influencers begins to convert to the Catholic Church, it’s prudent not to give them too much power or too large a platform. They can wind up embarrassing the church, and they often have some screwy and dumb ideas.
Joyce is right. The Catholic Church has seen big-name public figures such as conservative commentator Candace Owens, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), and possibly even psychologist Jordan Peterson come home to the faith, but it needs to be more careful of burnishing new converts as spokespeople. It can end badly and politicize a religion that cannot be reduced to simple political categories.
