At a Turning Point USA event on Tuesday (April 14), U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said he welcomes policy input from Pope Leo, “even when there’s disagreement.” But Vance added, “In the same way that it’s important for the vice president of United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, emphasized that “each of us has our own role.” As vice president, “I’m trying to take the lessons, the moral truths that are rooted in Christianity, and I’m trying to apply them to a whole host of complicated real-world scenarios,” he said to applause. “My job is to apply moral truth to try to do the best thing for the American people,” Vance added, noting the same is true of President Trump. “The pope’s job is to preach the gospel,” he said.
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The event took place in Athens, Georgia, in a university auditorium described as “mostly empty.” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet moderated the discussion in place of CEO Erika Kirk, who backed out due to security concerns.
Conversation, Disagreement Are Welcome, Says JD Vance
At the University of Georgia on Tuesday evening, Vice President J.D. Vance was asked what it felt like, as a Catholic, to be “in the middle” of the war of words between President Trump and Pope Leo, the first American pontiff. Trump recently called the pope “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” Pope Leo responded that he didn’t fear the Trump administration or “speaking out loudly about the message of the gospel” and peace.
“It’s a good thing when Christian leaders, whether they’re Catholic or Protestant” discuss public policy, Vance said, because “part of preaching the gospel is talking about how the gospel applies to the issues of the day.”
The vice president emphasized that he has “a lot of respect for the pope,” whom he likes and admires. Vance isn’t bothered when the pope addresses public policy, he said, “even when I disagree with how he’s applying a particular principle.”
Pointing to immigration, Vance said he’s been “frustrated…that some of the Catholic clergy have attacked mercilessly the Trump administration” about its border policies. “My constant response to that [criticism],” Vance said, “is, ‘How is it humane to allow drug traffickers and sex traffickers to bring little kids across the Southern border?’”
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But when the pope brings up topics such as immigration, abortion, and war, Vance said, “at the very least it invites a conversation.”
Early last year, Pope Francis appeared to correct Vance on “ordo amoris,” a concept Vance had used to defend Trump’s executive orders on immigration. According to Vance, the “very Christian concept” justifies caring first for your family, neighbors, and fellow citizens, before prioritizing “the rest of the world.”
Pope Francis, who died last April, wrote in a February 2025 letter to U.S bishops that “Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups.”
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said he welcomes policy input from Pope Leo, even when there’s disagreement, but said it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.Click to Post
