US Vice President JD Vance on Monday urged the Vatican to “stick to matters of morality” as a feud escalated between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the war in Iran.
“I certainly think that in some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality... and let the President of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,” Vance said on Fox News’s Special Report with Bret Baier.
Earlier on Monday, Trump criticized Pope Leo as “terrible” in a rare direct attack on the pontiff, who responded that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue denouncing the horrors of war.
The confrontation reflects an unusually direct dispute between a US administration and the Bishop of Rome, with Trump openly challenging both the pontiff’s stance on Iran and the Pope Leo’s moral authority.