In the months since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, endless conversations have swirled and conspiracies run rampant over the late conservative activist.
One of the chief claims about Kirk, an evangelical Christian, centers on his alleged movement toward Catholicism with several influencers, including Candace Owens, claiming he was abandoning Protestant doctrine.
Even more recently, John Yep of Catholics for Catholics has suggested in interviews Kirk disclosed to him he was inching toward converting to Catholicism.
That, however, is not what Pastor Lucas Miles, senior director of TPUSA Faith, is saying.
Miles, who, in his own words, “served directly under Charlie’s leadership during the final year and a half of his life,” explained via X on Monday that Kirk was not, in fact, considering converting to the Catholic faith.
Here is what Miles wrote:
A few recent interviews with John Yep are circulating the claim that Charlie Kirk was in the process of converting to Catholicism. That claim is not accurate, and it needs to be corrected.
As the Senior Director of TPUSA’s Faith division and someone who served directly under Charlie’s leadership during the final year and a half of his life, I am in a position to speak plainly about this.
I have personally communicated with Charlie’s wife, [Erika], and I also spoke directly with Father Kline, the priest referenced in these discussions. After those conversations, the facts are straightforward:
• Charlie was not in the process of converting to Catholicism
• He never took Catholic conversion classes (OCIA)
• His marriage was never convalidated in the Catholic Church
• He was baptized Presbyterian and remained a Bible believing evangelical throughout his lifeFather Kline indicated concern that his prior comments have been misconstrued and that the current public narrative is not accurately representing his conversations with Charlie’s intentions.
Let me be clear, respect for Catholicism is not the same thing as moving toward conversion. Charlie respected many people across denominational lines. Like many evangelicals, including myself, he read widely, including Augustine and Aquinas. None of that constitutes a conversion trajectory.
In my own conversations with Charlie, he was firm on justification by grace and did not believe he could biblically reconcile certain Catholic doctrines, including Mariology and the invocation of the Saints. In the few instances he was present at mass, he found it peaceful and beautiful. Charlie enjoyed sitting inside the empty sanctuary to worship in peace without being asked for selfies etc. That is a long way from entering OCIA.
If there had been an active conversion process, there would be documentation. There is none.
Charlie loved all true Christians, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Evangelical. Again, that is a long way from entering OCIA.
That this even has to be addressed is bizarre.
An occasional “fist bump” does not equate to intimate friendship nor give [John Yep] the authority to speak on behalf of the dead. I would caution him to take care not to overstate what the facts simply do not support. This is not about scoring theological points. It is about honoring Charlie’s actual life and faith with accuracy and refusing to let speculation rewrite his story.
Miles’ statement comes as Owens, a conspiracy theorist, has launched a podcast series casting doubt on the authenticity of Kirk’s marriage to Erika as well as the veracity of Erika’s political ideology and familial makeup.
The series also continues to espouse her oft-referenced conspiracy theories about Israel and the Jewish people.
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