‘Stick To Morality’: Vance Says Vatican Should ‘Stay Out Of US Affairs’ Amid Trump-Pope Row

Last Updated:April 14, 2026, 14:01 IST

Vance also defended Trump's now-deleted social media post depicting himself as a saint-like healer with light radiating from his fingers.

Amid an escalating public clash between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war, US Vice President JD Vance asked the Vatican to “stick to matters of morality".

In an interview on Fox News on Monday, Vance said that pope should stay out of American affairs.

Vance, a convert to Catholicism who is set to publish a book on his journey to the faith, downplayed the backlash from Christians across the political spectrum over President Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV.

He said “that in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality. “Stick to matters of, you know, what’s going on in the Catholic Church," Vance added.

When asked about whether he agreed with Trump’s attacks against the pope. “And let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy." He added, “When they are in conflict, they are in conflict. I don’t worry about it too much."

He continued, “I think it’s a natural thing. I’m sure it will happen in the future and it’s not that big of a deal that it happened in the past."

The Vice President’s remarks came amid an escalating war of words between President Donald Trump and the US-born pontiff over the Iran conflict, with the president refusing to apologise for calling Pope Leo “weak on crime" and “terrible for foreign policy."

Vance also defended Trump’s now-deleted social media post depicting himself as a saint-like healer with light radiating from his fingers. “The President was posting a joke," he said of the image, which drew widespread criticism including from some of Trump’s own evangelical supporters.

“It’s a good thing" that Trump “likes to mix it up on social media" and is “not filtered." “Of course, he took it down because he recognised a lot of people weren’t understanding his humour," Vance added.

The image, which showed Trump in biblical robes laying hands on a sick man, with eagles, American flags, and angelic figures in the sky, was deleted Monday morning following a global backlash.

Speaking to The Associated Press aboard the papal plane en route to Algeria, Pope Leo responded to Trump’s remarks, saying the Vatican’s appeals for peace are rooted in the Gospel. “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for," Leo said. “I will continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems," he added.

The exchange between the two influential figures intensified as the US war in Iran entered its seventh week. The pope had earlier criticised what he described as a “delusion of omnipotence" driving global conflict, while Trump threatened large-scale strikes on Iranian infrastructure.

While differences between popes and presidents are not uncommon, direct criticism of a US leader by a pope is rare, and Trump’s sharp response is equally unusual.

News world ‘Stick To Morality’: Vance Says Vatican Should ‘Stay Out Of US Affairs’ Amid Trump-Pope Row

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