Vice President J.D. Vance has expressed disagreement with new Pope Leo XIV’s views on immigration, stating in a recent interview that American Catholics don’t have to follow the pope on every political issue.
Tensions between Vance and the newly appointed pope surfaced during Vance’s discussion with New York Times columnist Ross Douthat on May 21, 2025, in Rome for Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass. The vice president articulated his opposition to the pope’s liberal immigration stance, emphasizing his duty to uphold law and order in the United States.
Pope Leo XIV, originally Robert Francis Prevost from Chicago, Illinois, made history on May 8, 2025, as the first American pope in the Catholic Church. The 69-year-old was previously the head of the Vatican office responsible for vetting bishop nominations globally before ascending to the papacy.
Vance defended the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies, arguing that excessive immigration threatens American social cohesion. “I really do think that social solidarity is destroyed when you have too much migration too quickly,” Vance stated in the interview.
The disagreement between these Catholic figures has deeper origins. Prior to becoming pope, then-Cardinal Prevost had criticized Vance’s political views on social media. On social media on February 3, 2025, Prevost shared an article from the National Catholic Reporter titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
This criticism followed Vance’s appearance on Fox News in late January 2025, where he discussed his interpretation of “ordo amoris,” a theological concept suggesting Christians should prioritize love hierarchically, beginning with family, then neighbors, community, fellow citizens, and finally the broader world. Vance used this doctrine to rationalize the administration’s immigration policies.
Pope Leo XIV’s disapproval of the Trump administration’s immigration policy extends beyond social media. In April 2025, the then-cardinal shared commentary from Catholic writer Rocco Palmo that criticized both Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele regarding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father wrongly imprisoned in El Salvador.
During his interview with Douthat, Vance acknowledged the challenging balance between his Catholic faith and his political duties. He stated that he cannot simply “do everything the Holy Father tells me to do” due to his obligations to serve the American people. Vance noted that he does not “just disregard” the Church’s hierarchy but makes “a prudential judgment informed very much by the Church’s teachings.”
Vance highlighted his concerns about social cohesion in the U.S., emphasizing the importance of building a society where families can thrive and people can unite in institutions. He argued that advocates of mass migration overlook how destructive current immigration levels and pace have been to the common good.
The vice president clarified that his opposition to current immigration levels is not driven by animosity toward migrants. Instead, he stated, he is “trying to preserve something in my own country where we are a unified nation.”
During their May 19, 2025, meeting at the Vatican, tensions between Vance and Pope Leo XIV were apparent in their brief encounter. The pope engaged in only a 17-second exchange with Vance during the procession line after the inaugural Mass, while holding extensive private meetings with other world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
Vance delivered a letter from President Trump inviting Pope Leo XIV to visit the United States. The Chicago-born pope accepted the letter, reportedly responding “at some point” to the invitation, according to Vatican Media footage.
The vice president also explained why he did not follow the traditional protocol of kissing the pope’s ring during their meeting. He noted that while this is a customary act of respect for the pontiff, kissing the ring of a foreign leader would be against protocol for an American vice president.
Pope Leo XIV has been active on social media since 2011, using his platform to express views on immigration, racism, and other political issues. His X account gained hundreds of thousands of followers after his papal election, with many scrutinizing his past posts for insights into his political positions.
The pope’s social media activity included criticism of Trump’s immigration policies dating back to 2015, when he shared an article by Cardinal Timothy Dolan titled “Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic.” He has also supported gun violence reform measures and expressed solidarity with movements for racial justice.
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in August 2019 at age 35, represents a growing movement of Catholic post-liberalism that critiques individual freedom in favor of state-sponsored promotion of traditional values. His political philosophy draws from the teachings of St. Augustine, the same saint whose order Pope Leo XIV belongs to as a member of the Augustinians.
The relationship between Pope Leo XIV and the Trump administration remains complicated by their fundamental disagreements on immigration policy. The pope has indicated his intention to continue the legacy of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who frequently criticized Trump’s immigration enforcement during both his first and second presidencies.
