Washington-Vatican feud deepens as JD Vance says pope should 'stick to matters of morality'

Washington-Vatican feud deepens as JD Vance says pope should 'stick to matters of morality' Submitted by Dalia Anis on Tue, 04/14/2026 - 12:03 US President Donald Trump went on a tirade against Pope Leo on Sunday and said he would not apologise for his statements A combination picture shows Pope Leo XIV (left) and US President Donald Trump (Guglielmo Mangiapane and Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Off US Vice President JD Vance has waded into the feud between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV, after the American president sparked global controversy for erupting at the Catholic leader over his criticism of the US- Israeli war on Iran . “I certainly think that in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what’s going on in the Catholic Church and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,” Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, told Fox News on Monday. American-born Pope Leo XIV, who has emerged as a vocal critic of the conflict, last week slammed Trump’s apocalyptic rhetoric against the people of Iran as “truly unacceptable".