Staff Reports
Vice President J.D. Vance has put a new stake in the ground. In a wave of interviews to promote his memoir Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, Vance told Megyn Kelly and CBS that he has returned to Catholicism, that marriage and family helped pull him back, and that some of his past remarks deserve regret. The media hullabaloo that followed — and the predictable online outrage — says more about the political age than it does about his spiritual turn.
Faith, family, and a near‑miss that changed him
Vance’s story in Communion is pretty plain: he drifted from religion, lived the hustle-for-success life for a while, then something stopped him. He describes a near‑crash that “sat there inconveniently in the back of my mind,” and that opened the door for questions he had been ignoring (The Atlantic). He says Catholic theology appealed to him intellectually, and marriage helped make faith practical. As Second Lady Usha Vance told CBS, “Therapy didn’t work for you; church does.” That line matters because it shows faith is not a campaign prop for him — it is how he and his wife choose to live.
Owning foolish words — credit where it’s due
Here’s a point conservatives should not be shy about praising: Vance calls his “childless cat ladies” line “one of the dumbest things I ever said” (AP). Good. Say it, mean it, move on. Too many politicians either double down on bad takes or offer hollow spin. A sincere apology with a change in tone is rare. If Communion is half repentance and half explanation, that is healthier for public life than a steady diet of snark and cruelty dressed up as “tough talk.”
Vatican visits, Pope Francis, and the politics wrapped around a prayer book
The memoir also lays out his meetings with Vatican officials and an encounter with Pope Francis — and Vance does not just pant for a papal selfie. He critiques Vatican diplomacy and tries to explain how those encounters fit his political thinking (The Atlantic, Daily Beast). Of course the rollout will be read through a political lens. Book tours always are. Reporters are already speculating about future ambitions. And yes, some pro‑Trump activists complained that he sat with Megyn Kelly — which, in 2026, is the equivalent of getting mad at someone for using a cell phone.
Grow up, conservatives
Here’s the blunt truth: if you want to win national arguments, celebrate sincere faith, not sectarian purity tests. The internet mob that squeals about which host a conservative will talk to is a luxury the Right cannot afford. We need grown-up wins — men and women who can explain why faith matters, who can apologize when they’re wrong, and who can debate with clarity. Vance’s Communion is a test of that idea. Read it, argue with it, but don’t reflexively cancel someone because they sat across from a host you dislike.
Bottom line
Vice President J.D. Vance’s book and interviews give conservatives something useful: a public figure trying to square faith with public life. He admits mistakes, points to family as a root of change, and brings Catholic theology into a national conversation. That’s worth more than the usual outrage cycle. If you care about winning hearts and minds, start by paying attention to real conversions — not to cheap theater. Communion is not the last word on Vance or on conservative faith, but it is a chapter worth reading.
