File another one under: “Yay, he’s on our side!” I’m not one to get all into who’s Catholic and who isn’t, but sometimes … it’s worth celebrating.
Jim Gaffigan is a very funny man; Catholic too, and he’s got the five kids to prove it. A recent article in the Washington Post examines Gaffigan’s low-key witness in light of the Church’s call to the “new evangelization.”
Stand-up comedy has always been littered with lapsed Catholics who have used their childhood faith and its residual guilt as a means of garnering laughs. What’s intriguing about Gaffigan (and his fellow Catholic comedian Stephen Colbert) is that he is actively participating in his faith, and using the framework of the Catholic values by which he lives, as a means for generating humor.
For example, Gaffigan’s take on parents one-upping each other about their children’s accomplishments: “I think it’d be great if you had a kid that ended up being Pope. That would be the ultimate bragging rights. “Oh your son’s a doctor? Yeah, ours is Pope. They have a house? He has his own city.”
Or the way he manages to be funny about religion without making religious people cringe, which is a rare talent. Witness the video below:
Gaffigan walks the walk, as anyone who’s seen him perform can attest. His humor is oftentimes insightful, sometimes edgy and always life-giving. Good to have him “on our side.”
