September 24, 2015 - Andrew Sullivan, Maria Shriver, Jim Gaffigan, Thomas Wenski
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 1, Episode 13 (Thursday, September 24, 2015)
GUESTS: Andrew Sullivan | Maria Shriver | Jim Gaffigan | Thomas Wenski | YMCA Jerusalem Youth Chorus | Choir of St. Jean Baptiste
SEGMENTS: The Pope is Here! | His Holy Merchandise | Andrew Sullivan, Maria Shriver, Jim Gaffigan | Stephen Has a Special Message for the Pope | Thomas Wenski | Performance by YMCA Jerusalem Youth Chorus And St. John Baptiste Choir
SUIT REPORT: Blue Suit | White Shirt | Purple Tie
My first episode guide for the Late Show is appropriate for this very Catholic member of the Colbert nation, as last night’s show was an All-Catholic All-Star Jam, packed with guests and segments devoted to the Pope’s historic visit to NYC.
Familiar friends-of-the-old-show Maria Shriver and Andrew Sullivan joined new-friend-of-the-show Jim Gaffigan for a Catholic celebrity panel, followed by an interview with Archbishop of Miami Thomas Wenski. The episode featured a special musical tribute from Stephen himself, and an eclectic choral performance by the YMCA Jerusalem Youth Chorus and Choir of St. Jean Baptiste Choir.
Stephen’s lifelong Catholic status made for a really strong reserve of jokes that just burst out of every segment here. I was giggling the whole way through in a way that is unlike other episodes. As much as Stephen is Catholic, he has a skepticism about blindly following faith that makes for a hilarious “tension,” as he called in the celeb-u-panel. Tension between fervently believing in something, but also having the presence of mind to maintain a questioning disposition towards it. Stephen’s Catholicism and comedy connection is what drew me to him originally (This Week in God, anyone?), and partially why I’ve been such a Superfan.
Let’s go get our Catholic on! All denominations welcome.
- Pope Francis is in America, can you feel it? There is a certain electricity in the air, and the nation’s 70 million Catholics have the kind of excitement we usually don’t have, unless we are asking for forigiveness about it afterwards.
- Our entire show is dedicated to Franci’s visit to the U.S. A. The show is an hour long, so it might the shortest Catholic service you’ll ever sit through.
- Of course, with the United Nations also in town, traffic is intense in New York. In order to get here on time tonight, I left home on December 19th.
- Facebook went down briefly today, which means that for several minutes, all across the country…something got done.
- For those of you who are unfamiliar with Catholicism, first of all, enjoy eternity in limbo. (I hear it’s kinda “meh.”) Second, you might be saying to yourself, what’s all the fuss about? After all, isn’t the Pope just an old guy in a dress who says he talks to God? There was a guy like that on my train this morning.
- Because Peter was hired by Jesus himself, each of his successors have a direct link to God. It’s one of the many benefits of being Pope, along with comprehensive dental, and infallibility, which only when the Pope is speaking ex cathedra, or from the seat of St. Peter, but if you’re just hanging out casually, and the Pope says the Godfather III is a worthy conclusion to the trilogy, feel free to call bull.
- One of the most transformative Popes was Pope John XXIII…who oversaw the dramatic reforms of [Vatican II], or as it’s more commonly known: “Vatican II: The Fast and the Abstinent”.
- Tomorrow is the big event, the mass at Madison Square Garden. It’s going to unforgettable when His Holiness dunks off a trampoline, he could the first Pontiff to pull off a 360 Tomahawk baptism.
- After the speech [to Congress], he had lunch with the homeless, instead of the leaders of Congress, possibly because he wanted to eat with people who were less likely to beg him for donations.
- I still have the humble Pope chair (produces metal folding chair) If you can’t make it [to my show], I understand, you’re a busy guy. But I want you to know, I’m going to be pretty mad if I see you getting day-drunk with Hoda and Kathie Lee.
Liturgical music nerd’s note: Jon Batiste and the band played a jazz version of Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” during the music break. Classy, and reverential. The fact that Jon can play sacred music in addition to everything else he does is something I can imagine Stephen really will appreciate, especially during episodes like this one.
Stephen “celebrates” the opportunistic NYC shopkeepers selling Pontiff merch in anticipation of His Holine$$ visit.
- Pope Francis cologne. Because what’s more forbidden than smelling like a 78-year-old celibate man.
- Some of the papal merch features….this postcard-sized tray of fine porcelain with real gold rim featuring a tweet from Pope Francis. Yes, a tweet from the Pope. This will go great with my dinner plate of Mother Theresa’s duckface snapchat.
- (Standing next to the Francis cardboard cut out) If you’re not able to attend one of the events in the next two days, just put one of these in your bedroom to terrify your children.
This was a cool discussion, because how often would you see these three together talking about faith? I liked that Gaffigan kind of kept the discussion grounded by being, well, Gaffigan.
Stephen: Thanks for being publicly Catholic for me tonight.
Gaffigan: We’re going to be crucified later, right?
Stephen: Maybe in the press.
Stephen asks the panel about the inherent contradictions in being a freedom-loving American and a dogma-following Catholic. Andrew Sullivan, a gay Catholic affirms that he believes he is being truthful and following his faith by being openly gay. “I’m openly gay because I’m a Catholic,” he says. “I was brought to tell the truth about myself, and because I was taught to treat every human with equal human dignity, love, and compassion.”
Then, the conversation drifts to the nature of how the powerful the Pope should be in American Catholic lives. Jim Gaffigan thinks Stephen has antiquated notions about the papal power, citing the old debate about when JFK was running for President: to whom would he take orders from? Stephen notes that Maria Shriver’s uncle was JFK, and Maria said JFK took orders from his mother. Gaffigan was saying that what drew him back to the faith was the concept of mercy, and being able to be forgiven for being a “horrible person.” Maria cites a study she conducted for the Shriver Report, in which Catholics today indicate that they identify more with Francis’ message of mercy and less of the older, more judgmental versions of what used to define a “good Catholic.”
The panel had consensus that Pope Francis’ speech to Congress was a universal message of compassion for all humanity that was not left or right.
Adorable! I don’t know how these two could get any cuter together. Stephen pays tribute to il Papa with a little help from his music dept.
- Francis is surrounded by a bunch of so-called friends he doesn’t even know. I told him not to join Taylor Swift’s girl squad!
- The Pope is like any of us: a simple, humble guy who wants to be the voice of God to a billion Catholics.
- Your Holiness, I can be that friend for you. I get you, we have so much in common. Like you, I was recently elevated to an influential position by an all-seeing power. (shows CBS logo)
Stephen then sings a modified version of “You’ve Got a Friend” with Jon directly to the Pope . How Jon plays the piano, reads the prompter, and harmonizes is beyond me. *bows to him*
Archbishop Wenski gives Stephen a gift on behalf of the Bishops, a medal of St. Genesius (patron saint of comedians), and cuban cigars.
I’ve been watching a lot of coverage on the Pope lately, and it has been said that Pope Francis really enjoys going out amongst the people and engaging with them. I was also thinking about how, like Francis, Stephen has assumed this new role, although it is simply a bigger show. The new show is, according to Stephen, about big names but also the everyday person, and that nod to just regular folk definitely seems like a reflection of Stephen’s Catholic values. I also think Stephen is the kind of host who likes to engage with the audience and the viewership in a way that is not only perfunctory; he also gets a lift from the audience’s enthusiasm and energy. It’s a reciprocal gift.
What did you guys think of the “Pope-i-sode”? Sound off in the comments.