US V-P Vance heckled in anti-war protest at University of Georgia

WASHINGTON – US Vice-President J.D. Vance invoked World War II on April 14 to defend the US bombing of Iran against criticism from Pope Leo XIV, extending the Trump administration’s spat with the Catholic Church and underlining the White House’s struggle to justify an unpopular war.

Mr Vance, who is Catholic, told a conservative audience at the University of Georgia that the Pope was wrong to say that disciples of Christ are “never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs”.

“Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis?” Mr Vance said after referring to the Pope’s comment. “I certainly think the answer is yes.”

US President Donald Trump has appeared stung by Pope Leo’s condemnation of the war, criticism that has highlighted the challenge the administration faces from the coalition of conservative and religious voters who helped elect him in 2024.

The President lashed out at the Pope on April 12 in a social media post that called the first American-born pontiff “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy”.

Pope Leo has stuck to his anti-war stance, telling reporters on April 13 that he had “no fear of the Trump administration”.

Without mentioning Iran or Mr Trump, the Pope posted on social media on April 14 that “God’s heart is torn apart by wars, violence, injustice and lies”.

The back-and-forth has presented a particular quandary for Mr Vance, a convert to Catholicism who is publishing a book about his path to the faith and who has long courted the Republican religious base.

Asked about the debate between Mr Trump and the Pope at an Athens, Georgia, event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point USA, Mr Vance admonished Pope Leo, saying that if he was “going to opine on matters of theology”, his comments needed to be “anchored in the truth”.

“In the same way that it’s important for the Vice-President of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology,” Mr Vance said.

But Mr Vance also echoed the diplomatic approach he took on Fox News on April 13 in playing down the political disagreement.

“I have a lot of respect for the Pope. I like him. I admire him. I’ve gotten to know him a little bit,” Mr Vance said. “It doesn’t bother me when he speaks on issues of the day – frankly, even when I disagree with how he’s applying a particular principle.”

Moments later, someone in the crowd interrupted, yelling: “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!”

It was an apparent reference to Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip, or the Iran war, in which a fragile ceasefire has held since last week.

“I agree,” Mr Vance responded. “Jesus Christ certainly does not support genocide, whoever yelled that out from the dark.” NYTIMES