Cardinal Timothy Dolan called the late Charlie Kirk a “modern-say St. Paul” during an interview with Fox News on Friday.
Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, sits on President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. He drew a prominent spot in the public eye when he hosted a charity dinner with Trump, absent of former Vice President Kamala Harris, during the 2024 presidential campaign.
“The more I learned about him, I thought this guy is a modern-day Saint Paul,” Dolan said. “He was a missionary, he’s an evangelist, he’s a hero. He’s one I think that knew what Jesus meant when he said, ‘The truth will set you free.’”
A gunman shot and killed Kirk, a prominent Christian conservative commentator, as he spoke to students at a Utah university. His alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, has been caught.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan on Charlie Kirk: “The more I learned about him, I thought this guy is a modern-day Saint Paul. He was a missionary, he’s an evangelist, he’s a hero. He’s one I think that knew what Jesus meant when he said, ‘The truth will set you free.’” pic.twitter.com/UtF0JxShsf
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) September 19, 2025
Kirk often used his Christian faith as he debated students about political topics across the nation. Dolan said Kirk appeared to always debate “with respect.”
Dolan’s comparison of Kirk to one of the most important figures in Christianity, St. Paul, has earned him criticism.
Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh, now a Democrat, said he’s Roman Catholic but found Dolan’s remarks “embarrassing.”
The National Catholic Reporter wrote an op-ed on Friday, refusing the comparison to St. Paul and saying Kirk had expressed “racism, sexism, and xenophobia.”
“Catholics — and all people of goodwill — condemn Kirk’s murder in the strongest possible terms…But that does not mean he was ‘a modern-day St. Paul,’” the publication wrote.
FOREIGN LEADERS REMEMBER CHARLIE KIRK AS DEFENDER OF FREEDOM AFTER ACTIVIST’S ASSASSINATION
“That’s false by any measure,” it added.
Kirk’s funeral is this Sunday at the Arizona Cardinals stadium. Several prominent political figures, including Trump, will attend.
