Paul V. Brock writing in Commonweal:
“The National Catholic Reporter called out Vance’s cafeteria Catholicism in January 2026, when he responded to a fatal shooting involving a federal agent with what NCR’s editor described as “gaslighting and agitation,” contradicting the Gospel message of human dignity. Vance loads his cafeteria tray with anti-abortion absolutism and immigration apocalypticism and the ambient suggestion that cruelty toward the right targets is a form of Christian witness. What he leaves behind is everything that costs you something. The faith is proven, the Church teaches, by what it costs you. Vance’s version costs him nothing. It rewards him with everything. That’s not a religion. That’s a brand strategy that uses genuflection and holy water.”