Vice President JD Vance took a conciliatory approach to the Vatican in an USA TODAY interview after the Trump administration sparred with Pope Leo over Iran.Show Caption
WASHINGTON – Vice President JD Vance said he welcomes Pope Leo expressing disagreement with the Trump administration, adding that it can encourage dialogue, even as the president publicly and flatly rejected the pontiff’s views on Iran.The nation's second Catholic vice president told USA TODAY he sees a constructive role for the Vatican and the pope to play in issues such as immigration or humanitarian aid to Cuba, saying, “it's totally appropriate for the Vatican or any other religious body to weigh in on the moral concerns that confront policymakers.”"I actually welcome the Vatican's engagement on these issues even where we disagree, maybe especially where we disagree," he said in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY tied to the release of his new book.As he tries to navigate the contentious relationship between his boss and his spiritual leader, Vance said he doesn't expect Leo to "be silent" on weighty issues or "stay out of politics." At the same time, he said, "I also don't think that it means the Vatican is always going to be right."Vance said political leaders are much better equipped to deal with public policy than religious leaders.The comments come after Vance warned Leo in April to “be careful” when talking about theology and said the Vatican ought to "stick to matters of morality" in some cases, after the pope tangled with President Donald Trump.Trump had said on social media that Leo should "focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician." He has also accused the pontiff of "endangering a lot of Catholics."President Donald Trump vs. Pope LeoA likely 2028 presidential contender, Vance has been thrust into the middle of Trump's feud with the pope – one that has roiled the Catholic community in the United States. He expanded on his views about the pontiff’s role in public policy debates during a June 8 interview focused on the upcoming release of his book, "Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith." The book, due for release June 16, is a follow-up to Vance's bestselling memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy."Vance’s religious views would underpin a potential presidential campaign. To win the Republican nomination, he would need the support of conservatives who have strongly backed Trump. Lately, though, the president has upset religious conservatives by posting a Christ-like image of himself online as well as lashing out at Pope Leo and the Vatican.When Trump posted on social media in April that he would wipe out Iran’s “whole civilization” if the regime didn’t submit to his demands, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics called the threat “truly unacceptable.“Trump slammed Leo in a Truth Social post as "WEAK on crime" and "terrible for Foreign Policy," adding that he should “stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician."The pope responded that he doesn’t fear the administration “or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel." Vance told Fox News host Brett Baier on April 13 that in "some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality" and the happenings of the Catholic Church, and let the U.S. president dictate American public policy.The Vatican, war and immigrationVance also pushed back on the pope during a Turning Point USA rally in Georgia on April 14 after Leo said in a social media post, "Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs."“Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis?" Vance said. "Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated Holocaust camps and liberated ... those who had survived the Holocaust? I certainly think the answer is yes.”The Catholic Church has long been outspoken against war. Vance has been critical of the United States' involvement in foreign conflicts but has defended the Iran war after reportedly expressing concerns about entering the conflict.“Now we can, of course, have disagreements about whether this or that conflict is just, but I think in the way that it’s important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology,” Vance said on April 14.At the same time, he also said, "I kind of like" when the pope weighs in on immigration, abortion and war because "at the very least it invites a conversation."Tensions between the Trump administration and the Vatican appear to have eased somewhat after the initial dust-up between Trump and Pope Leo. Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to the Vatican in May, in what was widely viewed as a peacemaking mission, and Vance recently told NBC News that he found the pope's encyclical warning about artificial intelligence "very profound, and the sort of thing that you would expect and hope from a leader of the church."The Trump administration also has clashed with the Vatican on immigration. Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, criticized Trump's deportation push, writing an open letter to Catholic bishops in the United States last year saying it was a "major crisis" that "will end badly."In his book, Vance writes that "the media exaggerated the conflict for clicks and ratings" and said he preferred Francis' "specific exhortations to the vagueness I had encountered during our Vatican meetings" during a visit to Rome just before the pontiff's death."Better to have an honest conversation than one masked by cliches," Vance wrote.
