Vance says best for Vatican to ‘stick to morality’

US Vice President JD Vance said it would be best for the Vatican to “stick to matters of morality” as tensions persist between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war.

Speaking to Fox News, Vance said the pontiff should focus on moral guidance while US leadership handles public policy.

His remarks come after Trump criticised the pope’s stance on the conflict after the pontiff called for an end to the war with Iran and warned against what he described as a “delusion of omnipotence” driving the conflict.

In a social media post, Trump called the pope “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” saying, “Leo should get his act together.”

Trump also claimed credit for the pope's election, suggesting the Vatican chose a US-born pontiff to appeal to Washington. “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump said.