Vice President JD Vance has publicly disagreed with Pope Leo XIV regarding immigration policies, maintaining that American Catholics are not always obligated to follow papal guidance on political matters. The disagreement stems from the new pontiff’s criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration stance, including mass deportation efforts.
Before his election as pope on May 8, Pope Leo XIV, then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago, shared social media posts criticizing President Donald Trump’s and Vice President Vance’s stances on immigration. In a February 3, 2025 post, the cardinal pointed to an article in the National Catholic Reporter titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019. He had cited the medieval-era Catholic teaching in order to justify the United States’ immigration policy under President Trump. The disagreement centers on Vance’s interpretation of Catholic doctrine regarding prioritizing care for one’s own community vs. universal Christian charity.
Pope Leo XIV’s predecessor, Pope Francis, also rebutted the theological concept that Vance used to defend the immigration crackdown in an open letter to U.S. Catholic bishops in February. Francis warned that the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts and other policies cracking down on immigration were driving a major crisis that damages human dignity.
The tension between Vance and papal authority came to a head during a brief meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on April 20. The 88-year-old pope, still recovering from pneumonia, spent a few minutes with Vance at the Domus Santa Marta to share Easter greetings. Vance’s motorcade remained within Vatican grounds for a total of 17 minutes.
On April 19, Vance met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Foreign Minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher. His office indicated they discussed their shared religious faith, Catholicism in the United States, persecuted Christian communities worldwide, and President Trump’s commitment to restoring world peace. The Vatican stated there had been an exchange of opinions, including over migrants, refugees and conflicts.
The Vatican expressed hope for serene collaboration between the state and the Catholic church in the United States, while acknowledging the church’s valuable service to vulnerable people. This appeared to reference Vance’s accusation that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was resettling illegal immigrants to obtain federal funding, claims that top U.S. cardinals have strongly disputed.
During a February appearance at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Vance called himself a “baby Catholic” and acknowledged there were things about the faith he did not know. However, he maintained his position defending his views on immigration policy despite papal criticism.
The disagreement reflects broader tensions within American Catholicism regarding the relationship between religious doctrine and political policy. Vance has consistently argued that Catholics can disagree with papal positions on political matters while remaining faithful to core religious teachings.
Following Pope Leo XIV’s election as the first American pontiff, Vance congratulated him on social media, expressing confidence that millions of American Catholics and other Christians would pray for his successful leadership of the church. However, this public diplomatic gesture did not signal any change in Vance’s immigration policy positions.
The new pope largely avoided posting to his social media account in 2024, but he had posted hundreds of times since 2011 in both English and Spanish. As a cardinal, he shared criticism of Trump and President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele’s response to deportation policies affecting El Salvadoran nationals.
The theological dispute highlights the challenge facing American Catholic politicians who must navigate between religious teachings and political positions. Vance’s stance reflects a growing trend among conservative Catholics who argue for selective adherence to papal guidance on political issues while maintaining religious orthodoxy on doctrinal matters.
