Pope Leo XIV, the new head of the Catholic Church and the first American ever chosen for this role, has made headlines not just for his historic appointment but also because of something he posted online. Even before becoming pope, he shared a message on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that showed he strongly disagreed with the current Vice President of the United States, JD Vance. That post has now come back into the spotlight and is causing a lot of debate.
In that tweet, Pope Leo was responding to a comment JD Vance made in an interview back in January. Vance had said that love should be shown in a certain order: you love your family first, then your neighbors, your local community, your fellow citizens, and finally people from the rest of the world. He said that many people on the far left, meaning more liberal thinkers, had completely flipped that order and were focusing more on helping people outside their country instead of those closer to them.
The Pope disagreed with that idea and wrote, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” He added a link to an article from the *National Catholic Reporter*, which covered the original interview and the discussion around it. Pope Leo’s point was that Jesus taught love should be unconditional and not based on who’s closer to us. His comment suggested that Christian love is meant to be equal for everyone, no matter where they come from.
Some people supported Vance’s original view, saying it made sense to look after your own family and country before helping others far away. They even quoted a Bible verse from 1 Timothy 5:8 which says, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” To them, this showed that JD Vance’s view had biblical support.
But the Pope’s comment upset others. Some people online reacted strongly, accusing the Catholic Church of going “woke,” a word critics use when they think people or organizations are being too politically correct or too focused on social justice. Others mocked the Pope, saying things like, “Same as the old pope” or, “JD is never wrong.” It turned into a political and religious debate on social media, with people taking sides.
This controversy comes at a time when the new Pope is just beginning his leadership. Instead of everyone focusing on the history he made as the first American Pope, much of the attention has turned to this disagreement with a top U.S. political leader. News organizations are closely following the story and updating their websites with the latest details, reactions, and opinions.
Readers are being encouraged to stay updated by following news outlets like the Irish Star on social media or signing up for email alerts. People who have information or opinions about the story are also invited to contact the reporters via email. As more reactions and developments unfold, it’s clear this issue has sparked a deep discussion about faith, love, politics, and how people interpret Christian teachings in today’s world.
