JD Vance ‘schools' Pope Leo
Vice President JD Vance recently converted to Catholicism and, already, he has headed to the cafeteria.
Conservative Catholics have long denigrated as "cafeteria Catholics" those who claim to be faithful members of the Roman church, but who pick and choose between doctrines they believe and those they cannot accept. Vance claims to be a true believer, but, when he is talking about Pope Leo XIV, he sounds a bit like Martin Luther.
Catholic doctrine declares that the pope - any pope - is a direct heir of the Apostle Peter, the man who Jesus Christ named as "the rock upon whom I will build my church." Members of the College of Cardinals may pick each new pope, but church teaching says they are always guided to the right choice by God Almighty. The pope, therefore, is God's chosen, infallible in many things and a teacher to be followed by all Catholics.
All, except JD Vance, apparently.
President Donald Trump is peeved at Pope Leo for his condemnation of the American attack on Iran and Leo's refutation of the administration's various boasts that U.S. warriors are on a holy crusade blessed by God. Saying he had no fear of the Trump administration, the pope repeated his assertion that "God's heart is torn apart by wars, violence, injustice and lies."
Vance has jumped into the argument, saying, "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."
Actually, it makes more sense to say a vice president of the United States should be careful when he talks about matters of theology, especially when he is critiquing the guy who, for Catholics, is the principal interpreter of all things theological. Yet, that has not inhibited the fledgling Catholic. Vance has continued to lecture the pope on just war theory. That is the church doctrine delineated by St. Augustine that stipulates when a war is morally justifiable. Pope Leo just happens to be a recognized expert on Augustine's teachings and might know just a little more about the topic than the veep.
Oh, but Vance doesn't care. He's in the cafeteria picking up lunch for his boss back at the White House, the man who appears to be the true keeper of JD's soul.
See more of David Horsey's cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey
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