Vance says he’s ‘grateful’ after Pope Leo rejects narrative of rift with Trump

Vice President JD Vance said April 18 he was "grateful" to Pope Leo XIV after the Pontiff pushed back on a media "narrative" casting him and President Donald Trump as adversaries. 

>> CatholicVote president: calls for Trump apology over post insulting Pope Leo are ‘well founded,’ broader rift narrative is not << 

Pope Leo says his remarks on war predated the president’s criticism

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane while flying from Cameroon to Angola, Pope Leo XIV addressed the dispute with the president that has drawn widespread media attention.

"There's been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects, but because of the political situation created when, on the first day of the trip, the president of the United States made some comments about myself," he said. 

The Holy Father was referring to comments earlier in the week in which Trump criticized him in a lengthy social media post, calling him “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” amongst other remarks where Trump described him as “a very liberal person” and said he is “not a fan.”

The Pope spoke about his April 16 peace address, specifically when he said "the world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants" and condemned the billions spent on "killing and devastation." Many had read this as a direct rebuke of Trump. 

"The talk that I gave at the prayer meeting for peace a couple days ago was prepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting," Pope Leo said.

"And yet, as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate again the president, which is not in my interest at all."

The Pope made clear he intends to keep his focus on the Gospel rather than the political back-and-forth. "So we go on the journey; we continue proclaiming the Gospel message," he said.

Vance acknowledges disagreements remain

Vance responded to a clip of these remarks by the Pope April 18 on X, welcoming them while acknowledging that genuine disagreements between the administration and the Holy See do exist.

"I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this," Vance wrote. "While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict — and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen — the reality is often much more complicated."

He described the Holy Father and the administration as operating in distinct but complementary roles. "Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he offers his opinions on the moral issues of the day," Vance wrote. "The President — and the entire administration — work to apply those moral principles in a messy world."

The vice president closed saying the Pope will be in their prayers, “and I hope that we'll be in his."

Vance has weighed in multiple times over the past week following Trump’s criticisms of Pope Leo.

In an April 13 interview on Fox News with Bret Baier, Vance said the Vatican should “stick to matters of morality” and “let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.” The following day, speaking at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia, he pushed back again on the Pope’s rebukes of war, invoking the just war theory and saying the Holy Father should “be careful” when addressing matters of theology.

His comments drew a swift response from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which clarified that the U.S.-Iran conflict does not meet the criteria of a just war.

>> US bishops push back on Vance’s ‘just war’ comments <<