Vance Thinks He Can Out Christian the Pope
Published: May 14, 2026 •
3 min read
Updated: May 15, 2026 11:15 AM (Just now)
Apparently if you just Google things having to do with Christianity, you can know and understand more about the Bible than the Pope. At least that is what JD Vance seems to think. Take Vance's advice on "ordo amoris" or "order of love", an idea put forth by St. Augustine:
"You love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community....Then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then...the rest of the world...Just google 'ordo amoris'."St. Augustine's original purpose for this concept was to keep us from putting more love into things we shouldn't, psychological desires—like comfort, beauty, power—and material things, over love for God, loved ones, and mankind. The concept later went from that order of love to more of a "circles of obligation" idea where family came first, then friends, community, city or nation, and finally, humanity at large—more or less ignoring desires or material things, which was the original purpose.
While, on the surface, this does make sense as far as loved ones go—if we ignore the change in meaning of the concept completely—it opens the door for secular interpretations that allow for things like racism, deportation, and war. I say "secular", meaning "of the world" and not religious, because there is no interpretation of the concept of love for mankind that would include these things.
The Pope's response: "JD Vance is wrong. Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love of others." And in a letter: "Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests...The true ordo amoris...is...love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception."Now the following is the reason I felt I needed to write this post. I am not Catholic. But I am a Christian and have been one for most of my life. That being said, the sheer audacity of JD Vance to reply the following way to the Pope, the religious leader of 1.42 billion people in the world—72 million in the US—is unimaginable. Every Christian everywhere should be shocked.
"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...If you're going to opine on matters of theology...you've got to make sure it's anchored in the truth."Astonishing. Not only does Vance compare himself and his job as vice president to the Pope—a primary spiritual leader of Catholicism, successor to St. Peter, and a position that's been around for 2,000 years, he tells the Pope he shouldn't be sharing his opinion of theology...which is his primary job.
The Pope is the main teacher and guardian of the faith whose most important job is arguably to interpret and uphold church doctrine. You would think, as a Catholic, Vance would know that. You would also think he wouldn't be arrogant enough to believe he knows Christianity better than the Pope.
In days gone by, that statement to the Pope would have, and should have, ended his career as a politician. But in the age of Trump, anything goes.
