I have long lamented the absence of a truly Catholic option on the main stage of American politics. While this is partly because Catholic voters fail to act as a unified voting bloc, the blame cannot be placed entirely on the electorate. Our desperately needed grassroots unification could be—could perhaps only be—inspired by a single candidate providing a third way in the two-party system’s quadrennial choice between Moloch and Mammon.

Let’s be clear about something: to say that there is “no truly Catholic option” is not to assume a moral equivalence between the two bad possibilities. Between a party for whom the annual murder of a million innocent babies is the paramount sacrament of a secular religion, and a party for whom the annual murder of a million innocent babies is a mildly offensive byproduct of the freedom that upholds capitalism’s reign, we should obviously choose the latter. But we should not feel good about it.

If an alternative is offered to our uneasy alliance with the lesser of two massive evils, we ought to take it seriously. We ought, in fact, to devote a great deal of hope and prayer to the eventual arrival of just such an alternative, and perhaps even work actively in the public square to prepare the way—which many of us have been doing for untold years.

Enter Kanye West.

We did not expect this. Interview every traditionalist, every pro-lifer, and every downright reactionary you can find. Not one of them will tell you they knew in advance that the man to take up our standard in a presidential race would be a college-dropout superstar rapper, son of a Black Panther, who married a transgender Olympic decathlete’s media-icon stepdaughter (who became famous herself for releasing a sex tape) and carried on a public and outrageous feud with pop-country sweetheart-turned-progressive shill Taylor Swift—all this among countless other, equally absurd activities. If any of them does claim he knew, he’s either lying or a prophet. None but the prophets among us knew either that the Son of God and savior of the world would come incarnate as a carpenter’s Son in a manger in Bethlehem. Ours is not a faith of the expected.

A comparison, however limited, of Kanye to Our Lord may be a bit excessive (though we should not forget that our primary goal in earthly life is to be Christlike). But there are any number of saints and heroes from our history with whom the candidate has notable similarities. The cliché of all clichés in speaking of converts is to compare them to Saint Paul, so I will default to a convert only slightly less clichéd—Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

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The importance of the Ignatian parallel lies in a pair of episodes from the saint’s early days as a Christian. Twice he was arrested and interrogated by the Inquisition for preaching without a degree in theology. His zeal had outrun his knowledge, and so his eagerness to speak the Gospel—paired with a less than perfect understanding of the same—raised concerns. Likewise, Kanye was subjected to harsh judgment for the theological recklessness of Jesus is King, the profoundly religious album that followed his conversion. Critics seized on the imprecision of Kanye’s images and statements (apparently oblivious to much worse offenses in recent attempts at Christian music, such as flying on eagles’ wings, dancing at the table of plenty, skipping down the yellow brick road, etc.) boldly to point out the obvious: Kanye doesn’t quite know what he’s talking about.

One prominent example is a line from “Hands On”: “Told the devil when I see him, on sight.” This is American urban lingo for something like “I’m going to initiate a street fight with Lucifer.” “Ha,” scoff the rapper’s betters, “doesn’t he know that the prince of darkness is a non-corporeal being and thus must be combatted through means other than traditional fisticuffs?” But they miss the point. If only our theologians and our churchmen had the courage to fistfight Satan, we might be better off.

We actually could have a president with the courage and the inclination. The refinement of ideas and the precision of intellect—these matter less than the vital energy and the direction which Kanye and Kanye alone among the available candidates points that energy, i.e., toward God. Besides, refinement of ideas and precision of intellect aren’t exactly abundant in his opponents. If there were ever a time when we could justify opting for a pious madman on account of the alternatives, it would be now.

But just what would Kanye’s fistfight with the devil look like? For one thing, it would take a ferocious swing at his efforts against human life. Kanye is as passionately pro-life as any politician in recent memory. Even on the death penalty, which the USCCB determined last year to be unjustifiable in a nation without real need for it, Kanye’s answer is simple: “Thou shalt not kill.”

Let that sink in. Asked about a divisive, hot-button issue—a question whose difficulty reduced veteran politician Michael Dukakis to the appearance of inhumanity—a candidate for the highest office in our republic answered with one of God’s commandments. Our other options are a billionaire Lothario whose best answer to “What is your favorite Bible verse?” is “I don’t want to get into specifics,” and a supposedly practicing Catholic who has spent his career defending the culture of death. Is this a hard choice?

If any doubts remain about how deep Kanye’s pro-life ethic runs, consider this: West has been vocal for years in his skepticism of birth control, especially regarding the moral equivalence of emergency contraception (which often acts after the creation of a genetically unique individual) to abortion. This position is shockingly far outside of the mainstream. Even conservative politicians do not come within a mile of it today. The endorsement of this vital pro-life sentiment by a public figure whose very livelihood rests on his reputation among people who despise such beliefs is a show of saintlike, heroic courage. Kanye probably hasn’t read Humanae Vitae, but he has approached by mere intuition and faith its most important sentiments, and he defends them in a way that neither his Catholic (Biden) nor his conservative (Trump) opponent would ever even consider.

Thou shalt not kill. Kanye knows this. He believes this. What else matters?

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His is not a single-issue candidacy, either. Kanye aligns with the Catholic vote in at least two other areas of highest importance. The first is exemplified in his personal life. He has a genuine belief in a strong family as the fundamental building block of a healthy society. This has not always been the case. Kanye’s own moral conduct before conversion was often questionable. The family he married into is so troubled that they were given their own TV show. This is precisely why the Kardashian-West family is perfectly suited for the White House. They are genuine examples of conversion, even if it is conversion in progress. They are—as leaders should be—proof that we can be better than we are.

West’s economic tendencies jive well with Catholic teaching, too. In the viral Forbes interview that followed his announcement, Kanye discussed land reform as a central part of his dream for a more just America, citing the reneged promise made to freedmen in the Civil War, namely, forty acres and a mule. It is exactly parallel to the distributist sentiment of three acres and a cow—scaled up for the massive American continent. It is neither the soulless capitalism of the secular right, nor the mechanical collectivism of the left. It is a system rooted in place and a proper relation to the earth, with a clear appreciation for the dignity of the human person. It is a system that recognizes the nature and end of man, and grants him both the freedom and the security that is proper. It is entirely unexpected from a man who once released tracks like “I Am a God” on albums with names like Yeezus. But that doesn’t matter. Paul stoned Christians. That’s definitely worse.

For the first time in a long time, the Catholic choice is clear in 2020: vote for Kanye. Despite his many flaws, he shows more potential for (and interest in) the pursuit of Christian government than any serious candidate in living memory. Do not forget those flaws. Do not forget either those of our country, which is much farther from the Christian ideal than the repentant Mr. West. Simply pray that he comes to the fullness of truth in the one Church. Pray that he leads the nation, and that it follows.

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