JD Vance Advises the Pope To ‘Be Careful When He Talks About Matters of Theology’
Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, cautioned Pope Leo XIV on “matters of theology.”
Vance appeared at a TurningPoint USA event at the University of Georgia on Tuesday, where he addressed President Donald Trump’s feud with the pope, who has criticized the administration, especially on immigration and the war in Iran.
Last week, the pope tweeted, “God does not bless any conflict. 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.”
In response, Trump has called Leo “WEAK.”
Speaking at the event on Tuesday, Vance told the crowd that the pope should check himself when talking about theology.
So number one, when the pope says that God is never on the side of those who wield the sword, there is a thousand-year– more than a thousand-year tradition of just war theory, ok? Now, we can of course have disagreements about whether this or that conflict is just. But I think that it’s important in the same way it is 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…
I think that one of the issues here is that if you’re going to opine on matters of theology, you’ve got to be careful, you’ve got to make sure it’s anchored in the truth. And that’s one of the thingst that I try to do and it’s certainly something I would expect from clergy, whether they’re Catholic or Protestant.
Also during the event, Vance was heckled over U.S. support for Israel.
The vice president appeared on Fox News on Monday, where he was asked if he agrees with Trump’s broadsides against Leo.
“I think the president has the prerogative to set American foreign policy,” Vance responded. “He’s got the prerogative to set American immigration policy. He has to look out for the interests of the United States of America. And that inevitably means that when the Vatican comments on issues of public policy, sometimes there’s gonna be agreement, of course, and sometimes there’s gonna be disagreement.”
Watch above via C-SPAN.
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