Leaders from some of the largest Catholic organizations in the country have responded to openly gay leftist propaganda maker Rachel Maddow, who has claimed that she has returned to Catholicism despite spending most of her career promoting views that directly oppose Church teaching.
Speaking to a live audience on December 12, Maddow said that the election of Pope Leo XIV deeply affected her and influenced her decision to return to the faith in which she was raised as a child.
“I was born and raised in a conservative Catholic family and I’m Catholic myself after having not considered myself that for some time, but I do consider myself to be back in the faith,” Maddow said.
Bill Donohue, president and CEO of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, responded by saying he hopes Maddow is sincere about returning to the Catholic faith. However, he added that her move “doesn’t make any sense” given that the political positions she advocates remain “wildly out of step” with Church doctrine.
Donohue has a long history with Maddow, having debated her on MSNBC for years. The two frequently clashed over abortion and LGBT issues, where Maddow’s views sharply conflict with traditional Catholic teaching.
“I welcome anybody into the faith. I’d like to know more about her reasoning, though. It seems a bit shallow from what I’ve learned,” Donohue added. He then questioned what about Pope Leo XIV prompted Maddow to reconsider Catholicism. According to Maddow, it was the pope’s stance on immigration.
Donohue quipped that the pope’s election appeared to have been “grown in a lab to radicalize American Catholics” against President Trump’s immigration policies. Personally, Pope Leo—whom I love as my pontiff—gets immigration wrong. The Catholic Church teaches that nations have the right to defend their borders and protect their people from the consequences of illegal immigration. The pope’s position on the matter represents his opinion, not an infallible teaching of the Church.
In an interview with the Daily Caller, Donohue said he found Maddow’s apparent motivation confusing. He noted that while many bishops hold more liberal views on immigration and mass deportation, Pope Leo’s stance does not differ much from that of Pope Francis. So why would Leo’s election suddenly prompt Maddow to return to the Church?
Donohue suggested that Maddow’s renewed embrace of Catholicism likely stems from “political contemporary thought” rather than sound theology. “Then it just seems to me that’s a fairly shallow way to approach this kind of conversion,” he said.
He also pointed out that while the Church often leans left on immigration, it remains firmly conservative on marriage and family.
According to the Daily Caller, Donohue explained that although prominent clergy members remain in “open dissent” on LGBTQ+ issues, their personal opinions do not alter official Church doctrine—even if they “confuse a lot of Catholics.” He added that dissent appears less frequently on abortion, a position Maddow has promoted for years.
CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt told the Caller that Maddow’s return to the Catholic Church is encouraging, “especially as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord at Christmas.”
“We welcome her and willingly offer heartfelt prayers that the Lord will guide her to live and love the truth and beauty of the teachings of the Catholic Church,” Reinhardt said, calling Maddow’s “conversion” “good news.”
“There is no point in chastising her for views she expressed in the past; we can only hope for a better future for Rachel and those around her,” Reinhardt added. “We do not know the specifics of her journey home, nor is she obliged to share them with anyone other than her confessor.”
I harbor my own suspicions about the authenticity of Maddow’s return to the Catholic faith, but I’ll reserve judgment for now. God works miracles. Who knows? Maybe she will become a genuine convert and truly repent of her sins.
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