Before Charlie Kirk’s memorial is set to begin, two prominent voices are already pointing to what could follow the mourning: hope.
Van Jones, the progressive CNN commentator often publicly sparring with Kirk, revealed this week that the conservative activist sent him a private message just one day before his assassination. The message called for “a respectful conversation about crime and race.” Jones says the note has reframed how he sees the tragedy. “We can decide whether this moment makes us worse, or whether it makes us better,” he said, urging the country to choose dialogue over escalation. The two had previously been in a heated online exchange about the murder of a Ukrainian refugee on in North Carolina.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, has offered a parallel but distinctly spiritual message. Calling Kirk a “modern-day St. Paul,” Dolan told the hosts on Fox & Friends on Friday that Kirk’s death could ignite a faith revival among young people. The Archdiocese of New York recently released an update on reforms to its abuse response protocols, with Dolan arguing that “conversion is possible, healing is possible, holiness is possible even after great sin.”
Both men also conceded how polarizing and divisive Kirk had been, even admitting to disagreeing with him, sometimes on nearly everything. However, these men from vastly different worlds are turning Kirk’s death into a call for renewal — Jones through civic conversation, Dolan through spiritual revival.
Today’s service could to draw more than 100,000 mourners to State Farm Stadium in Arizona and an overflow arena and is expected to continue a similar sentiment of hope in addition to typical political rhetoric and calls for justice. With political leaders including Donald Trump and J.D. Vance scheduled to speak, the event is likely to carry heavy symbolic weight.
For Jones and Dolan, that symbolism is not about vengeance or despair, but about finding a path forward. Whether through conversation or conversion, they are betting that this tragedy could be a pivot point — if the nation is willing to take it.
