Given Viktor Orban's loss in Hungary and the failed negotiations with Iran, it's clear that J.D. Vance had a bad week. But as an avowed Catholic, he's also having to justify his boss's attack on the Pope.
One of the things he said in that context stood out to me. During an interview with Bret Baier on Fox News, the vice president said that "it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality."
That struck me because conservative Christians have typically narrowed the definition of "morals" to rules about sexual behavior. I suspect that is how Vance was using the term in this context.
But I'd challenge him to answer whether the Bible's 10 commandments address "matters of morality." If so, I'd like to talk about two of them: (1) you shall not kill, and (2) you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (ie, you shall not lie).
In light of those, I'd ask the vice president whether his rhetoric/actions on immigration are "matters of morality." For example, is it moral to justify the murder of two American citizens by ICE officers? How about the 46 people who have died in ICE custody during this administration. Do their deaths raise a moral question?
Of course, Vance admitted that he lied about Haitian immigrants eating our cats and dogs. But pretty much every time he opens his mouth about immigration he lies - accusing immigrants of causing all of our problems with health care, housing, education, etc. According to the Bible, lying is a matter of morality.
In the end, the Pope is doing exactly as Vance has suggested. He regularly calls out those who behave immorally when it comes to the way they treat immigrants. Even as a non-Catholic, I understand that's his job.
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