JD Vance, a self-proclaimed “Catholic babe,” was horrified after the White House condemned Pope Leo XIV for criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
The vice president came out after Catholic Democratic activist Christopher Hale’s Letters from Leo published comments by America’s first pope urging US immigration authorities to allow detained migrants to receive communion.
Pope Leo XIV Robert Prevost became the 267th pontiff of the Catholic Church, taking the name of Pope Leo XIV. / ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP via Getty Images.
Hale’s post focused on the Chicago-born pontiff’s address following reports that migrants held at an Illinois facility had been blocked from receiving communion. The pope called on the Trump administration to respect migrants’ dignity and religious freedom, saying authorities should “allow pastoral workers to help meet the needs of these people.”
Hale claimed that when he reached out to the White House for comment, an unnamed spokesman said “the pope doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
According to Hale, the alleged remark “infuriated” Vance, who publicly demanded that Hale reveal the White House official’s identity.
“Hey Chris, which WH spokesperson gave you that comment?” Vance asked X.
Hale didn’t appear to respond to Vance, but in a subsequent tweet angrily attacked him and his boss: “If President Trump and Vice President Vance put as much energy into lowering prices as they did into denying Catholics the Eucharist, working families will finally be able to afford groceries without God’s intervention.”
Vance, who received his first communion in the state of Ohio after the 2019 converted to Catholicism, has clashed with Vatican authorities over Mr. Trump’s brutal immigration policies, which many Catholic supporters say are contrary to Christian teaching. The vast majority of anti-migrant activists — as many as nine out of 10, according to one analysis — were Latin American Catholics.
Vice President JD Vance met with Pope Francis at the Vatican last April, just a day before his death. / Vatican Pool / Getty Images
At this year’s National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, the vice president leaned into his innovations in the church, telling attendees, “I’m very aware that I’m a baby Catholic. … If you ever hear me pontificate about the Catholic faith, recognize that it’s coming from a place of deep faith, but also from a place where we don’t always know everything.”
He also made it clear that he would not back down from the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants.
JD Vance 2019 converted to Catholicism. / Pool / Getty Images
“My purpose here is not to litigate with him or any other clergyman over who is right and who is wrong. Obviously, you know my opinion and I will speak to them consistently because I think I have to because it is in the best interest of the American people,” Vance said.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Vance converted to Catholicism at age 35 after being raised evangelical. in 2019 he told Rod Dreher, a right-wing writer and Orthodox Christian, that “his view of public policy and what the optimal state should look like is quite consistent with Catholic social teaching.”
“I saw a real overlap between what I would like to see and what the Catholic Church would like to see,” he said.
The Pope said Tuesday night that there is a need to “deeply reflect” on “what is happening” in the United States and Donald Trump’s mission to curb immigration.
“Jesus says very clearly at the end of the world, we will be asked, how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and receive him or not?”
“Many people who have lived for years and years and years without ever causing problems have been deeply affected by what is happening now,” the pontiff added.