As a Catholic, I am appalled at JD Vance who professes to uphold Catholic values. His actions and statements consistently contradict the core teachings of our faith, codified in the Gospels and manifested in the historical Jesus.

JD Vance has been at the forefront of several controversies, many of which starkly contrast with the Gospel teachings.

• (Good Samaritan) A Samaritan comes to the aid of a man after two of his kin ignore him; JD calls Renee Good a domestic terrorist while she is actively trying to help neighbours that she does not even know;
• (Divided Kingdom) A house divided against itself cannot stand; JD sows division for his own personal gain at the expense of the Union;
• (Heart Man) Jesus tells the crowd that there's nothing outside of them that can defile them going in, but can going out. He meant that rituals like prayer, going to mass, putting money in the collection basket, etc. mean nothing if what comes out of the heart is "...deeds of wickeness, deceit, indecent behaviour, slander..."; JD is a chameleon who will say anything at any time of the week to improve his standing while on Sunday he goes to mass and receives communion.
• (Unforgiving Servant) a servant has no money to repay his master and the latter has pity on him and forgives his debt. The same servant is owed money by a fellow servant who also has no money but the former has him arrested and thrown in jail - in a word hypocrisy; both, tragically, Ashli Babbitt and Renee Good were killed by law enforcement. JD believes one was justified and the other was not;
• (Rich Fool) Jesus says to a man who wants his brother to divide his inheritance, think of a rich man with a bountiful harvest but has no room to store it so he decides to build bigger barns, and essentially retire with alot of grain, kick back, eat, drink and be merry. That very night God says 'you fool' tonight your life will be taken, because that is how it will be for those 'not rich to God.' Main message is spiritual wealth, not material wealth, is what is valued to enter heaven; JD co-signs on his boss' stealing of Venezuelan oil, enriching himself on crypto currency, threatening to take the land of a NATO ally and plunder its wealth, wants to build casinos on land where Palestinians cannot even fully exercise their own sovereignty, and threatens my own country with becoming the 51st state. 

I can go on and on but most true Catholics believe they will enter into the after life based on the most important parable and the most important commandment.

(The Last Judgment). This is the parable where Jesus separates all the world's people in a manner that compares a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats.  At God's right side are the sheep and on His left are the goats. He turns to the sheep and says, when I was hungry, you gave me food; thirsty/drink; stranger/welcomed me; naked/clothed me; sick/visited me; prison/came to me. The Apostles ask when did we do all that? He turns to them and says, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' He then does the same thing to the goats, but this time the opposite, hungry/ no food, etc. He turns to the goats and says you did none of those things and casts them out saying, '... these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.'

Known as (the Greatest Commandment), that we as Christians follow above all those in the Old Testament. 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is... Love your neighbor as yourself', or as I have loved you.

These two above all else, at its basic core, is what unite Catholics in our aspiration for our souls to be saved. And the beauty about these two, is irrespective of if you are Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddist, Atheist, etc., it is a code for living a good, honourable, compassionate, and humble life. The small acts we do as exemplified in the Last Judgment; how we love and care for one another as our deity(ies) or moral authorities love us, as exemplified in the Greatest Commandment; this is how we strive to get salvation, whether in another world, reincarnated in this world, or only living in this life.

Now I am not a theologian, and no authority on all the Bible's teachings. I am not here for others to quibble with specifics of how each Catholic emphasizes different aspects in their search to live the Good Life. Nor am I here to debate whether I believe the Earth was created in 7 days, Jonah literally survived in the belly of a whale or Daniel survived in a den of lions. I am very well aware that the Bible is full of inherent contradictions, and has many precepts that can make one feel unwelcomed. I am also not here to say Jesus is the same as Moses, Muhammad or Buddha or Ganesh or Guru Nanak, etc.

I am with sin as we all are. But I strive to be better and look for inspiration to live the Good Life in The Last Judgment and Greatest Commandment.

The Catholic Church has done some very bad things and as an organized religion strayed from the very two things that inspire me to live the Good Life. Historically that was clear in some of the greatest events that have shaped our world like the Crusades, the Great Schism and the Reformation. Or others equally disgraceful, but on a smaller scale, like indigenous residential schools in my own country, in which the last one closed just as recently as 1997. And that persists today with the ill-advised edict that women can only wear habits and not collars in our faith to the disgusting practice of men who wear a collar and claim to be men of God but violate His very manifestation -  the innocence of children. All institutions, to say the least, are imperfect. But the realization of my faith stands for values of compassion, understanding, and unity.

As JD Vance said, he did not know what was in Renee Good's heart, so similarly I do not know what is in his. However, JD Vance's public actions and statements fall well short of these fundamental principles, where from the little I know of Renee's life, she embodied them through Christian missions.

In light of these contradictions, I believe it is imperative for the Church to take a stand. Historically, excommunication has been used to address serious offenses against Church doctrine and to signal a significant deviation from the teachings and values of the church. As a heartbeat away from the most powerful position in the world, and living his life in opposition to some of the very testimonials that Pope Leo himself has stated since becoming the Pontiff, I can think of no better candidate for excommunication.

I urge Pope Leo and the Vatican to consider this petition and take appropriate action against JD Vance. By doing so, the Church can affirm its commitment to the values of our faith and ensure that those who publicly represent Catholicism are truly aligned with its teachings. Please join me in signing this petition to call for accountability in upholding our faith.