JD Vance Responds to the Pope's Opposition to the War in Iran

Townhall 

Vice President JD Vance responded to Pope Leo's recent comments opposing the war in Iran, as the Vatican has taken heat from President Trump for commenting on political matters, and specifically calling out U.S. policy.

Vance was asked about the Pope’s comments at a recent Turning Point USA event, where he suggested that the Pontiff and the president had a difference of opinion over whether the Iran war could be considered a just war.

"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, okay?" Vance said. "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 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." 

"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," he added.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also responded to the Pope’s comments, arguing that if the Pope wades into political waters, he should expect political pushback.

"Listen, I'm not one to criticize clerics and religious leaders. We defend free speech, and we certainly defend the right to free exercise of religion. And a pontiff or any religious leader can say anything they want. But obviously if you wade into political waters, I think you should expect some political response," Johnson said. "And I think the Pope's received some of that. I was taken a little bit aback, just honestly, frankly, by something that was said. I think he said several days back that something about those who engage in war, that Jesus doesn't hear their prayers or something. It is a very well-settled matter of Christian theology."

"So I don't want to engage in a theological debate with the Pope," he added. "I certainly respect the Pope. I would just say that these are matters that people of good faith and good sense can debate and think through, and I think that's what that reflects."

This comes after the Pope has been critical not only of the Iran war, but also of the Trump administration’s immigration policy. The tensions between the Pope and the president came to a head days ago, when the Pope stated that “God does not bless any conflict.”

President Trump responded, blasting the Pope, writing, on Truth Social that "Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy."