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Pro-LGBT, anti-Trump comedian Jim Gaffigan to emcee Al Smith Dinner led by Cardinal Dolan – LifeSite

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(LifeSiteNews) — Left-wing comedian Jim Gaffigan, a self-described Catholic and noted Never Trumper, will emcee next month’s Al Smith Dinner in New York City.  

The event, scheduled for October 17, was live streamed in 2020 due to COVID-19. In 2016, attendees suffered through an uncomfortable evening when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton viciously attacked each other, causing many Catholics to argue that the event should be ended. In previous years, presidential candidates cracked jokes about one another as money raised at the $5,000 a plate event is awarded to charities associated with the Archdiocese of New York, which is led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Whether similar fireworks are in store for this year’s 1,500 attendees is anyone’s guess, as there was no love lost between Trump and Kamala Harris at their first and only debate this month.  

The evening will controversially be overseen by Gaffigan, a pro-LGBT jokester who emceed the fundraiser before in 2018. In 2020, Gaffigan unleashed an anti-Trump tirade on Twitter claiming that he is a “liar and a criminal.” He also accused him of being “not Christian or a decent person” and even told legendary Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz to “f—- off.” 

Aside from that, Gaffigan and his wife, Jeannie, have expressed support for many moral positions at odds with Catholic teaching.  

In 2017, Gaffigan tweeted solidarity with the radical pro-abortion Women’s March in Washington, D.C. 

In 2017, he took his young children to New York’s LGBT “Pride Parade.” He posted on social media that he’s “so proud of my gay kids.” 

At many “pride parades,” there are unclothed adults as well as sex acts that are performed out in the open.  

In 2020, Jeannie Gaffigan published an article for left-wing outlet America magazine attempting to justify Catholics voting for pro-abortion candidate Joe Biden. She also participated in the “Catholics for Biden” initiative, explaining in another article how her Catholic faith and motherhood informed her vote for Biden.  

In a 2012 episode of the TV show Portlandia, Gaffigan played “Donald,” a man who kisses his gay business partner “Stu” on the lips. The front of the food cart of the business they run consists of a giant image of two naked men in a hot tub filled with stew. In the image, Gaffigan is wearing a hat with the word “Oregon” in rainbow letters.  

In 2015, Gaffigan and his wife produced The Jim Gaffigan Show, which featured an active gay character whose attraction to and sexual involvement with other men is portrayed as normal and healthy. 

The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual acts are gravely immoral and can never be condoned. Individuals experiencing same-sex attraction, which the Church teaches is “objectively disordered,” are to be treated with “respect” as children of God. They are called to live chastely. 

Gaffigan is a graduate of the Jesuit-run Georgetown University. He is often trotted out by the Catholic world as a comedian who “brings Catholicism to the masses.” He has accolades from Catholic News Agency, Aleteia, and the National Catholic Register. When Pope Francis visited the U.S. in 2015, Gaffigan was honored as being the lone comedian in a warmup act prior to his appearance at the Festival of Families. Gaffigan and other liberal, self-identifying Catholic comedians like Stephen Colbert were invited to the Vatican for an audience with Francis this past summer.  

Despite his blatant promotion of positions entirely at odds with Catholic moral teachings, Gaffigan remains in good standing with moderate Catholic institutions. In 2019, the Archdiocese of Omaha had him perform at its ArchOmaha Unite event, a “vibrant, joy-filled, one-day Catholic party” meant to promote “unity.” Orthodox Catholics in the Archdiocese complained to local ordinary Archbishop George Lucas to no avail.  

In a clip posted to his X account this month, Gaffigan is seen making light of missing Mass on weekends — which if done on purpose is sinful — and being Catholic because his wife forces him to be. 

The Al Smith Dinner is hosted by the Archdiocese of New York. It is named in honor of Al Smith, a Catholic, four-term Democratic governor of New York in the early 20th century who was his party’s nominee for president in 1928. Candidates seeking the White House have been attending the event since the 1960s.  

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