Vatican Should ‘Stick to Matters of Morality,’ US VP Vance Says

The vice president’s remarks widened the rift with Pope Leo XIV after the pontiff defended his calls for peace. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied US Vice President JD Vance arrives for a news conference in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. (Photo by Jacquelyn MARTIN / POOL / AFP) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google US Vice President JD Vance on Monday urged the Vatican to “stick to matters of morality” as a feud escalated between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the war in Iran. “I certainly think that in some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality ... and let the President of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,” Vance said on Fox News’s Special Report with Bret Baier. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . Earlier on Monday,  Trump criticized Pope Leo as “terrible” in a rare direct attack on the pontiff, who responded that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue denouncing the horrors of war. The confrontation reflects an unusually direct dispute between a US administration and the Bishop of Rome, with Trump openly challenging both the pontiff’s stance on Iran and the Catholic Church’s moral authority. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization since 1995. Its international market reach of 97% outside of Ukraine makes it truly Ukraine’s Global – and most reliable – Voice.