Senior Trump administration officials escalated criticism of the Vatican on Tuesday, with Vice President Vance warning Pope Leo XIV to \u201cbe careful\u201d when speaking about theology and White House Border Czar Tom Homan telling him to \u201cleave politics alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance, a Catholic, issued the warning while addressing the pope\u2019s opposition to the conflict with Iran and his recent comment that Jesus\u2019s followers are \u201cnever on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs\u201d during a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Ga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vice president said that he liked that the pontiff was an \u201cadvocate for peace,\u201d but he should be more cautious when invoking \u201cmatters of theology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think one of the issues here is that if you\u2019re going to opine on matters of theology, you\u2019ve got to be careful. You\u2019ve got to make sure it\u2019s anchored in the truth, and that\u2019s one of the things that I try to do, and it\u2019s certainly something I would expect from the clergy, whether they\u2019re Catholic or Protestant,\u201d he told the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Homan also fired back at the Pope\u2019s criticism of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration policies on Tuesday, saying during an appearance on Newsmax that he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d with the Vatican\u2019s focus on political issues rather than internal ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are enough problems with the Catholic Church, and I know because I\u2019m a member of the Catholic Church, that they need to fix and concentrate on and leave politics alone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It echoed comments Homan made to reporters earlier in the day, in which he said he wished the Church would \u201cstay out of immigration because they don\u2019t know what they\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance and Homan\u2019s input comes amid a days-long, highly public clash between President Trump and Pope Leo, after Trump lashed out at the pontiff for opposing U.S. military action abroad and the pope responded with unusually blunt comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pope labeled Trump\u2019s threat to wipe out Iran\u2019s \u201cwhole civilization\u201d if Tehran did not come to the negotiating table as \u201ctruly unacceptable\u201d last week, prompting the president to write on Truth Social that the pontiff was \u201cWEAK on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump also posted an AI-generated image late Sunday that depicted himself as a Jesus-like figure, sparking pushback from lawmakers in both parties, as well as Christian leaders and other figures on the religious right. He later deleted the post, claiming it had been misinterpreted and he thought it portrayed him as a doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Monday, Pope Leo said he did not fear Trump and would continue to speak out against war, while promoting peace and diplomatic dialogue. He doubled down on that message in comments on Wednesday, after Trump posted another AI-image of himself embracing Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can live together in peace,\u201d he told reporters on the papal plane, according to CNN. <\/p>\n\n\n\n