Performance artist and self-proclaimed Catholic Stephen Colbert took to his show, The Late Show, with a recent announcement. Colbert is to be part of a 105-strong group of comics hailing from 15 countries, meeting Pope Francis in an unusual Vatican rendezvous. But before the laughter, Colbert took a jab at the Pope, odd for someone proclaiming Catholic loyalties.
Colbert marked his excitement about his upcoming Roman holiday with a disappointing twist. Despite the Pope’s progressive inklings like casting a tolerant eye towards same-sex civil unions, Colbert expressed disapproval, likening the Pope’s stance on LGBTQ+ matters as lagging behind NASCAR’s, the latter already embracing the cause with merchandise like “yaaaascar” t-shirts.
Parroting CBS’s Errol Barnett, he stated that Italian media claimed the Pope to use a homophobic term recently, and painted his disbelief of these allegations using his comedic skew. Bringing up the happenstance of the Pope purportedly using this offensive term two weeks prior with bishops, Colbert added a joke about bishops only moving diagonally.
Though his reaction might seem genuine, Colbert’s history of pushing a progressive agenda shrouded in Catholic beliefs hints at another intent. His disappointment could be another mask for his attempt to get the Church to adopt a more liberal view socially, which he subtly brings to his show under his comedic guise.
Colbert is not the only one headed to the Vatican for this comic-filled rendezvous. Other familiar faces include The View’s Whoopi Goldberg and The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon. The comic delegation is set to exchange humor with the Holy See, sure to be a spectacle.
However, one can’t help but wonder whether the jokes will just be Colbert’s way to push his progressive agenda further. Time will tell, but for now, we only have Colbert’s words. And jokes.
In conclusion, Colbert, while excited about his Vatican journey, leverages it as another platform to push for his liberal stance within the Church. His jests and sarcasm thinly veil his critique against the Church’s current views on social issues, but they hit their mark nonetheless. Colbert’s crusade for imposing social liberalism on the Church is yet another instance of the left’s aim to mold influential institutions to their narrative. But isn’t it ironic, the liberal agenda draped in a Catholic cloak?
