Vice President JD Vance Said Pope Leo Should "Be Careful" When Discussing Theology

By virtue of his position, Pope Leo XIV is, at least in theory, supposed to be one of the world's foremost experts in theology. After all, he was elected pope specifically because of his life of learning about Catholicism. That hasn't stopped Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism later in life, from disagreeing with the pope, and doing so pretty publicly.

Now that Vance seems to be engaged in something of a war of words with the pope, many want to better understand exactly what he said about him. Here's what we know.

Vance was responding to comments that Pope Leo made about war, which many saw as implicitly about President Trump's war in Iran. The pope said that Jesus “is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,” and Vance responded by suggesting that that isn't true.

He also cautioned the pope that he should be careful before getting involved in matters of politics, which he thinks are best left to politicians.

“Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis? Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated Holocaust camps and liberated those, those innocent people, you know, those who had survived the Holocaust? I certainly think the answer is yes,” Vance said at a Turning Point USA event in Athena, Ga.

Vance also said that he likes it when the pope weighs in on matters like immigration, war, and abortion, but that he sometimes disagrees. “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,” he continued.

“But I think 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 things that I try to do, and it’s certainly something I would expect from the clergy, whether they’re Catholic or Protestant,” the vice president added.

It struck many online as strange for Vance to suggest that the pope is not thinking carefully.

After all, he is one of the foremost experts on theology in the world. This is not the only exchange the pope has had with the Trump administration, but most recently, he said he had "no fear" of the administration, saying that he planned to continue his appeals for peace, which are rooted in the gospel.

This comes just days after President Trump posted an image of himself as a Christ-like figure, one which many even in his own party considered to be blasphemy. In matters of religion, it seems like the Trump administration should also probably speak carefully.