(originally posted: https://tradcatdia.substack.com/p/sorry-for-their-loss-but-charlie)
The recent death of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), has prompted an outpouring of sympathy across political and religious lines. Many conservative Catholics, especially those weary of progressive agendas in the Church and society, have expressed their condolences and admiration for Kirk’s cultural battles against secularism, socialism, and moral decay.
While we should indeed pray for the repose of his soul and extend Christian charity to the grieving, now is not the time for confusion about truth. It is necessary — especially in moments like this — to distinguish between human sentiment and doctrinal clarity.
No matter how sincere the intentions of Charlie Kirk or his followers may have been, the movement he founded — Turning Point USA — promotes a set of ideological principles that are profoundly incompatible with Catholicism, particularly the consistent teaching of the Church prior to the Second Vatican Council.
In fact, TPUSA embodies many of the core tenets of Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ, which have been condemned repeatedly by the Magisterium.
TPUSA’s Ideological Foundations
Founded in 2012, TPUSA promotes what it calls “American values,” typically including:
Free market capitalism
Individual liberty
Limited government
Religious pluralism
Separation of church and state
Constitutional originalism
Opposition to socialism and collectivism
These are not uniquely Christian principles, nor do they arise from Catholic tradition. They are instead rooted in Enlightenment liberalism, Lockean natural rights theory, and the Protestant revolutionary mindset that shaped the founding of the United States.
TPUSA speaks in religious language, but its foundation is secular, modern, and deeply liberal in the classical sense — making it structurally hostile to Catholic political philosophy.
TPUSA and the Ideological DNA of Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ
Much like Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ, TPUSA is built on the elevation of natural reason, individual autonomy, religious indifference, and the neutrality of the secular state. Though TPUSA is not a Masonic lodge, it expresses the same philosophical and political assumptions that have been consistently condemned by the Church.
Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ upholds:
The equality of all religions as equally valid paths to truth
A naturalist worldview that separates religion from public governance
The sovereignty of human reason over divine revelation
A commitment to liberty, equality, and fraternity detached from the Kingship of Christ
Likewise, TPUSA celebrates a society where the state is neutral on religion, where religious belief is a private preference, and where freedom of conscience is considered the highest good — regardless of whether it leads souls to salvation or perdition.
As Pope Leo XIII warned in Humanum Genus (1884), the Masonic worldview promotes:
“That erroneous teaching which would separate the Church from the State, and break the mutual concord between temporal authority and the priesthood.”
TPUSA may not be formally Masonic, but it is ideologically indistinguishable from it in key respects — particularly in its view of religion’s role in society and politics. To support TPUSA is hardly any different from supporting Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ.
1. Liberalism vs. the Catholic Political Order
TPUSA’s core principles of individual liberty and limited government are not just political preferences — they reflect an anthropology that exalts man’s autonomy as the supreme good.
But Catholicism teaches that man is made for truth, not mere freedom, and that both individuals and societies are ordered to the Kingship of Christ.
In Immortale Dei (1885), Pope Leo XIII condemned the liberal state that treats all religions as equal and allows religion no role in shaping civil law:
“It is a public crime to act as though there were no God... The State is bound to serve God with public acts of religion.”
TPUSA’s vision of a secular republic where all religions are treated equally is in direct conflict with Catholic doctrine.
2. Religious Pluralism: Error Has No Rights
TPUSA consistently promotes religious pluralism, welcoming Protestant, Jєωιѕн, and other non-Catholic figures to its events, all on equal footing.
But the Catholic Church teaches that only the Catholic faith is true, and while toleration of error may be permitted for the sake of peace, error itself has no rights.
The Syllabus of Errors (1864) by Pope Pius IX explicitly condemns:
“That every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true.”
(Syllabus #15)
“That it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion should be held as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all others.”
(Syllabus #77)
TPUSA’s commitment to religious pluralism is more than bad theology — it is directly opposed to the revealed truth that salvation comes only through the Catholic Church.
3. Capitalism and Catholic Social Teaching
TPUSA is proudly pro-capitalist, often opposing any government interference in the market and championing so-called “economic freedom.” But Catholic teaching, while defending private property and condemning socialism, also condemns unregulated capitalism.
As Pope Pius XI warned in Quadragesimo Anno (1931):
“The right ordering of economic life cannot be left to free competition alone.”
Catholic social teaching promotes a moral economy, grounded in:
The common good
Distributive justice
Subsidiarity
The priority of labor over capital
TPUSA’s libertarian economic model promotes materialism, undermines the family wage, and fosters a society where the market becomes an idol.
4. Separation of Church and State: A Condemned Principle
One of TPUSA’s most cherished doctrines is the separation of Church and State — a principle enshrined in American constitutionalism and rooted in Masonic ideology.
But the Catholic Church teaches that while the Church and State are distinct, they must cooperate under the spiritual authority of Christ’s Church.
As Pope Pius X taught in Vehementer Nos (1906):
“That the State must be separated from the Church is a thesis absolutely false, a most pernicious error.”
The American model celebrated by TPUSA is built on a rejection of Christ’s social kingship. It is not a Catholic model and never has been.
5. Moral Libertarianism and Relativism
Though TPUSA brands itself as pro-family and pro-faith, its moral vision is libertarian, not Catholic. It tolerates a broad range of moral views among its affiliates, including public figures who support:
Contraception
No-fault divorce
LGBT ideology, under the guise of “freedom”
This moral relativism is antithetical to the objective moral law taught by the Church. As Pope Pius XII affirmed:
“The State… must protect and promote the moral order, without which neither individuals nor the community can prosper.”
A state that refuses to legislate morality — as TPUSA recommends — serves error, not justice.
6. Americanism: The Heresy That Haunts TPUSA
In Testem Benevolentiae (1899), Pope Leo XIII condemned the heresy of Americanism, which includes:
Overemphasis on natural virtues over supernatural grace
Prioritization of activism and personal initiative over ecclesial obedience
Attempts to adapt Church teaching to modern liberal norms
TPUSA’s entire project — blending conservative activism with a vague, voluntary religiosity — is a manifestation of Americanism. The Church has warned against this error for more than a century.
7. Their “Church” Is Not the Church
TPUSA has launched its own religious initiatives such as “TPUSA Faith,” often hosted in Protestant mega-churches or para-church settings. These “worship” events mix politics with a diluted, generic Christianity devoid of sacramental grace or ecclesial authority.
The Catholic Church cannot recognize these as valid expressions of the true faith. They are modern substitutes, not the continuation of the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church founded by Christ.
8. Foreign Policy and Just War
TPUSA’s unwavering support for American military interventionism and pro-Israel foreign policy often ignores Catholic teaching on just war.
The Church requires that war be:
Waged by proper authority
In self-defense
Proportional and with right intention
Uncritical promotion of wars for political influence or “national interest” is morally dangerous and incompatible with the doctrine of peace taught by the Church Fathers and reiterated in every major social encyclical.
Conclusion: Sympathy Without Compromise
We can and should pray for the soul of Charlie Kirk, and show human sympathy for those mourning his death. But we must also maintain the integrity of the Catholic faith and resist the temptation to baptize movements that are fundamentally opposed to it.
Turning Point USA promotes:
Liberalism
Secular nationalism
Moral relativism
Religious indifferentism
Unregulated capitalism
These are not merely “flaws.” They are core aspects of TPUSA’s identity — and they have been condemned by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church repeatedly and authoritatively.
TPUSA may fight some of the same cultural battles as faithful Catholics, but it does so for different reasons, on different foundations, and toward different ends.
It is not our friend.
Sources:
Pope Leo XIII, Immortale Dei (1885)
Pope Pius IX, Syllabus of Errors (1864)
Pope Pius XI, Quadragesimo Anno (1931)
Pope Leo XIII, Testem Benevolentiae (1899)
Pope Leo XIII, Humanum Genus (1884)
Pope Pius X, Vehementer Nos (1906)
Pope Pius XII, Moral Order and the State (Addresses and speeches)
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Topic: Sorry for Their Loss, But Charlie Kirk’s TPUSA Is Not Our Friend (Read 77201 times)