Tensions ease: Vance thanks and praises Pope Leo XIV after nuancing his statements on Trump

Vice President JD Vance on Saturday offered words of thanks to Pope Leo XIV for recent statements the pontiff issued in the morning hours, in which he assured that some of the things he said regarding President Donald Trump in the last week were misinterpreted, thus reducing tensions between the White House and the Catholic Church. In a post on his X account, Vance assured that he keeps the pope in his prayers and emphasized the complex relationship between moral leadership and political governance.

"I am grateful to Pope Leo for saying this. While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict–and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen–the reality is often much more complicated. Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he offers his opinions on the moral issues of the day. The President–and the entire administration–work to apply those moral principles in a messy world. He will be in our prayers, and I hope that we'll be in his," the vice president wrote.

Give-and-take between Trump and Pope Leo.

Hours before that publication, the pope declared during a press conference aboard a flight to Angola that the comment he previously made in Cameroon, in which he stated that the world was being "ravaged by a handful of tyrants," was in no way directed at the American president. "As it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate the president, which is not in my interest at all. Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said," said the Catholic leader, who stressed that his focus remains on promoting the Gospel message of peace, reconciliation and dialogue.

His comment in Cameroon came shortly after Trump's April 7 warning, in which he issued one of his most controversial messages by assuring that "a whole civilization will die tonight" if the Iranian regime did not comply with demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Pope Leo XIV called such statements "truly unacceptable".

In response to these words of the pontiff, the Republican leader stated days later that he is "not a big fan of Pope Leo", and even publicly accused him of "toying with a country [Iran] that wants a nuclear weapon."