Will our Catholic bishops finally recognize the errors of their ways?
The assassination of Charlie Kirk is not just a personal tragedy—it also marks the end of an era in America. For years, Charlie embodied the spirit of open debate and the free exchange of ideas. He believed that by reasoning together Americans could reach truth and consensus. But his death reveals something undeniable: the liberal order of neutrality and tolerance is dead.
As long ago as 2012, Catholic political philosopher Patrick Deneen foresaw this moment in his essay “Unsustainable Liberalism.” He warned that liberalism would eventually consume the moral capital it had inherited from Christianity, family, and community. Once those reserves were gone, it could not sustain itself and would collapse into either chaos or tyranny. Charlie’s assassination, and the vile glee with which some received it, shows us that we have reached that point.
For decades, the Left has abandoned liberalism, replacing tolerance with viewpoint discrimination. Through cancel culture, the capture of schools and universities, corporate coercion, and media dominance, dissenting voices have been silenced. Conservatives, by contrast, have clung to the ideal of free speech as the highest good, believing that the answer to bad ideas is always more debate. But tolerance of destructive ideologies has come at a cost. Lies that confuse children, encourage self-destruction, and teach Americans to hate their own country have been allowed to flourish—tearing apart the very fabric of our society.
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