CNN host Abby Phillip on Wednesday took on a Catholic panelist who tried to go to bat for Vice President JD Vance after he warned that Pope Leo XIV should “be careful” and not get political when discussing “matters of theology.”
“Do you think that JD Vance knows more about Catholic theology than the pope?” asked Phillip of Caroline Downey, a columnist for the conservative National Review who described herself as a practicing Catholic.
Downey attempted to defend Vance, who is Catholic, over his warning as those in Donald Trump’s camp, including Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), made finger wags toward the U.S.-born pontiff, who has dialed up his criticism of war and angered the president in the process.
She referred to the pope’s Palm Sunday homily, where, per a translation from the Vatican, he emphasized that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
Downey argued that it’s “totally normal” for the pope to make United Nations spokesperson-like statements against war before claiming that Leo was being “a bit precarious” and could have confused Catholics about war.
