‘JD Vance is Wrong’: Here’s What The New Pope Has Tweeted About Trump and US Politics from Mediaite Sarah Rumpf

AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

Pope Leo XIV, who was known as Cardinal Robert Prevost just a few hours ago, was named the head of the Catholic Church on Thursday after being selected on the second day of the papal conclave held in the wake of Pope Francis’ passing. On his social media accounts, Leo XIV has criticized President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on issues including immigration and Catholic doctrine.

Born in Chicago, Leo XIV is the first American to be named the Bishop of Rome and has been praised in Catholic media for his language skills. Besides his native English, the 69-year-old new pope can speak Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese and can read Latin and German, allowing him to communicate with both cardinals and church members around the world.

He has also been communicating with an online audience. Leo XIV joined Twitter, now known as X, in 2011. He seems to be a sporadic tweeter, posting or retweeting a handful of tweets in early 2023, two in July of that year, and none in 2024.

What is likely to get attention, however, is the then-cardinal’s tweets criticizing the Trump administration. His most recent tweet, on April 14, was a retweet of Catholic blogger Rocco Palmo that denounced the White House’s “illicit deportation of a US resident,” Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and quoted Bishop Evelio Menjivar: “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?”

Screenshot of retweet by @drprevost via X.

Other recent tweets from Leo XIV take issue with Vance’s comments about “ordo amoris,” a Catholic theological concept on the “order of charity.” In January, Vance argued in a Fox News interview that this should be interpreted as “you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world.” Vance doubled down in a tweet the next day.

Vance’s interpretation of ordo amoris drew a public rebuke from Leo XIV’s predecessor, Pope Francis, in a letter addressed to American bishops.

Then-Cardinal Prevost voiced his agreement with Francis, sharing an article discussing the pope’s letter and tweeting bluntly, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

Social media users have found other past tweets by Leo XIV that espoused views that would reasonably be interpreted as contrary to those of the Trump White House, including these screenshots shared by Yashar Ali in which Leo XIV criticized actions by the president’s first administration to separate undocumented immigration children from their parents, restrictions on accepting Syrian refugees, and so on.

“We need to hear more from leaders in the Church, to reject racism and seek justice,” wrote Leo XIV in May 2020.

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