Thune pushes back
Senate Leader John Thune publicly pushed back after comments tied to the Pope’s political views, saying lawmakers should keep the focus on economic issues rather than religious commentary. ( )
Senate Majority Leader John Thune broke with Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday, saying Republicans should talk about “pocketbook issues” and “let the church be the church.” (aol.com) Thune made the remark to Punchbowl News reporter Andrew Desiderio after Vance said Pope Leo XIV should “be careful” when he talks about theology. Thune answered, “Isn’t that his job?” (aol.com) Vance made his comments Tuesday, April 14, at a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Georgia, while defending the Trump administration’s foreign policy and citing the Catholic Church’s “just war” tradition. He asked, “How can you say that God is never on the side of those who wield the sword?” (usatoday.com) The clash started after Pope Leo XIV criticized the Iran war in a post on X on April 10. Politico reported that Leo wrote, “God does not bless any conflict” and said disciples of Christ are not on the side of those who “drop bombs.” (politico.com) That put Senate Republicans in the middle of a fight that mixed foreign policy, religion and party message discipline. Thune’s answer signaled that at least one top Republican wanted the argument moved away from the Pope and back to inflation and household costs. (yahoo.com) The dispute also exposed a split inside the party over how to answer religious criticism of military action. Vance, a Catholic convert, framed his argument in theological terms, while Thune treated the Pope’s theological role as obvious and outside the White House’s lane. (nbcnews.com) Catholic leaders pushed back on Vance as well. America magazine reported that the chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ doctrine committee defended the Church’s teaching and said just war theory sets strict moral limits on force. (americamagazine.org) By Wednesday, Thune had reduced the dispute to a simpler political line: the Pope handles theology, elected officials handle government. That response did not settle the foreign-policy argument, but it drew a boundary around what Thune said voters “most Americans care about.” (joemygod.com)
