JD Vance says he criticises the Pope but still admires him

US Vice President JD Vance has stated that although he is “frustrated” by criticism of US policy from some members of the Catholic clergy, he still loves and admires the Pope.

During an interview with Turning Point USA in Georgia, Vance said he even likes it when there were disagreements, Caliber.Az reports, citing CNN.

“I like it when the pope comments on questions of immigration, I like it when the pope talks about abortion, I like it when the pope talks about matters of war and peace, because I think that, at the very least, it invites a conversation,” Vance said.

He added that there were certainly things that the Pope had said in the last few months that he disagrees with.

The vice president pointed to a social media post by Pope Leo XIV published last week, in which the pontiff referred to the war in Iran.

“Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,” the Pope wrote.

Vance made it clear that, on the one hand, again, he liked that the Pope was an advocate for peace; he thought that was certainly one of the Pope’s roles.

 “On the other hand, how can you say that God is never on the side of those who wield the sword? Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis? Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated the Holocaust camps and liberated those innocent people from those who had survived the Holocaust? I certainly think the answer is yes,” he noted.

Vance’s remarks were briefly interrupted by an audience member who shouted that Jesus would not support genocide.

“When we came in, the humanitarian situation in Gaza was an absolute catastrophe. You know, who’s the person who got a peace agreement in Gaza? Donald J. Trump,” Vance responded.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov