Erika Kirk pauses to take it all in before speaking at her husband, Charlie Kirk’s memorial service.

Erika Kirk is an amazing woman and a witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

All week, since his assassination on September 10, 2025, the news cycle has been dominated by Charlie Kirk, the investigation into his murder, and supporters praising him and critics condemning him. If nothing else, Charlie Kirk was not a lukewarm person. His organization, Turning Point USA, which he founded for the purpose of engaging political opponents in a more or less respectful way, has for years been the most visible means by which the public came to know Kirk. He and his team would be invited onto campus, usually by one of the conservative student groups. They would set up a table and chairs under a tent, then put up a sign taking a political position on some, often controversial, subject and invite those present to “Prove Me Wrong!” For example, perhaps the sign would say, “America is the greatest country in the world” followed by, “Prove Me Wrong!” Students and faculty would line up and Kirk would invite those who disagreed with him to come to the front of the line so they could be the first to engage him in debate. Kirk often dominated the debates because he was remarkably well prepared on whatever subject was introduced, presenting facts that opponents had difficulty refuting and challenging facts presented by opponents. Love him or hate him, after watching a handful of clips on YouTube of Kirk debating on campuses, it’s clear that Kirk was a champion of free speech, and it’s clear that he loved his job.

Charlie Kirk was very public about his Evangelical Christian faith. He often spoke of his faith without shame or fear. Erika, Charlie’s wife of more than four years and the mother of his two children, is a devoutly practicing Catholic. While Charlie was somewhat critical of Catholic doctrine, he did show respect for the Catholic Church. He spoke about how the Church’s Tradition was important in establishing what was true on matters of faith and morals. She and Charlie would attend St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Scottsdale, AZ. He exchanged views with Bishop Joseph Brennan of Fresno, CA. I’ve heard that he and Bishop Robert Barron knew each other and Charlie was scheduled to appear on Bishop Barron’s program. That would have been an interesting discussion. Charlie once said, “I love devout Catholics, so many in my life that I treasure … My wife baptized Catholic, my mom baptized Catholic, and my grandmother was the greatest Catholic who ever lived.” Hmmm … that brings up an interesting question. If Kirk’s mother and grandmother were so devout, did his mother arrange for him to be baptized into the Catholic Church as an infant? If not, why not? If so, what happened after that?

In any case, it’s clear that Erika and Charlie Kirk had a marriage built on faith in Jesus Christ, and that Charlie had a great deal of respect for Erika’s Catholic faith. There is reason for all of us to have a great deal of respect for Erika’s Catholic faith. She has offered an example of Christian forgiveness that is, sadly, rarely seen among public people in this country. At Charlie’s memorial service, held in State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ, Erika spoke of Charlie and their marriage, of their life together. She spoke of how women are not slaves or servants to their husbands, but helpers. The husband and wife are not rivals, but one in Christ. She called on men to be the spiritual heads of their homes, but to be a leader worth following. She also called on women to be the guardians, preservers, and encouragers in their families. For mothers, she reminded them that their being a mother is their most important role, identifying motherhood as a “ministry.”

Then she said something to the crowd of 95,000 who were gathered there that perhaps shocked them and shoced those in the secular and political world who were watching:

“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life. That young man. That young man. On the cross, our Savior said, “Father, forgive them for they not know what they do” [sic]. That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him, because … because it was what Christ did, and is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love, and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”

I forgive him. Why? Because it was what Christ did. Here is a woman who has just lost her husband, the love of her life, the father of her children, to a murderer’s bullet, and she forgives the murderer. She is a follower of Christ who wants to follow Christ’s example of forgiveness. That is a lesson this society needs to hear. That is a lesson this society needs to embody. Thank you, Erika Kirk, for reminding us of what following Christ means, and for having the courage to speak it boldly for the whole world to hear.

Sadly, President Trump spoke after Erika. He said that Charlie Kirk didn’t hate his opponents. He said that’s where he and Charlie differed, and that he hates his opponents. He did say that, perhaps, he and Erika could talk and she could convince him otherwise. What a miserable, sad, pathetic example this man is! To declare, within minutes of Charlie Kirk’s wife publicing forgiving the man who killed her husband, getting up on stage and saying that he, rather than forgiving the young man, hates him. I hope that every news station in the world covering this memorial service will focus on Erika Kirk’s forgiving heart, and will utterly ignore Trump’s hateful heart. How discouraging, and troubling, it is to have such a man in the White House.

For my part, I will focus on Erika Kirk’s public statement of forgiveness for her husband’s murderer. We don’t need hate. As she said, the answer to hate is not hate, but love. We learned that from the Gospel. Let’s hope and pray that people across this nation will hear that word and embrace it.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.