New Pope Also Thinks JD Vance Is an Idiot

On Wednesday, the cardinals elected a new pope following the death of Pope Francis in April: Robert Prevost, 69, who is the first American to be head of the Catholic Church. He’s also a naturalized Peruvian citizen and will be known as Pope Leo XIV. And while we are still learning about his views, it appears that, like Pope Francis, the man is not a fan of Vice President JD Vance.

First, let’s recap the beef between Vance and the former pope. Vance—an adult convert to Catholicism—tried to justify his administration’s harsh immigration crackdown by claiming that a Catholic theological concept supports it. Vance said on Twitter that ordo amoris means “you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country. And then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.”  A Jesuit priest explained that, actually, “Jesus’s fundamental message is that *everyone* is your neighbor.”

Pope Francis wasn’t having it, either. He wrote in a February 10 letter to U.S. bishops explaining that “Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups.” And then he proceeded to subtweet Vance: “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’…meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”

Vance visited the Vatican over Easter weekend and had a meeting with some of Francis’ top aides in which they discussed immigration. The Vatican described it as “an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees, and prisoners.” Then, Francis, who was hospitalized for several weeks earlier this year, briefly met with Vance before giving an Easter Sunday address criticizing “how much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized and migrants.” He didn’t name the Trump administration, but he didn’t have to. Francis died hours after meeting with Vance.

Now back to Prevost. Posts from what appear to be his Twitter account show him retweeting a post critical of the administration sending migrants to El Salvador without court hearings, and sharing a February opinion piece from National Catholic Reporter dragging Vance for his interpretation of ordo amoris. Rhe headline is “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”