I think you must have glossed over this part: "Loving Catholicism for its worst tendencies is standard irony-culture nihilism, but it’s not the same thing as being Catholic. Living in the Church means community; it means engaging with what Catholicism has become, and taking responsibility for what it might be in the future."

If these kids are just embracing the nihilism and bigotry and not the actual rich spirital heart of Catholicism, it's an act and not a search for spiritual meaning of some sort.