JD Vance Is Obviously, and Unremarkably, Correct About the Order of Love, by Kenneth Craycraft

In a recent appearance on a TV news show, JD Vance articulated the “Christian concept that you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then, after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.” The comment caused immediate, harsh reaction from many in the Catholic commentariat, condemning Vance’s observation. Some have cast doubt on his personal faith. One prominent British journalist even questioned the faith of the priest who received Vance into the Church.

The National Catholic Reporter, for example, ran an opinion column headlined “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” In the course of the article, the author did more to affirm the propriety of Vance’s comment than support the thesis expressed in the headline. For example, she writes, “Paul reminds them: love starts close. It moves first toward those in front of us, ensuring widows were not abandoned while preserving the church’s resources for those truly without support.” This is, in essence, a paraphrase of Vance’s observation, but I suppose that was lost on the author and editors of NCR. …