The Four Doctors of the Western Church: Saint Augustine of Hippo, Gerard Seghers (Antwerp 1591 – Antwerp 1651) Photo: Public Domain

When JD Vance became a confirmed Catholic in 2019, he probably didn’t think the Pope would one day call him out for his social media activity.

But, on Feb. 11, Pope Francis issued a strongly worded letter to U.S. Catholic bishops, calling the Trump administration’s plan of mass deportations a “major crisis.”

“I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations,” he writes. “…the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.”

Keep scrolling to read Pope Francis’ full letter to U.S. Catholic bishops.
The Pope’s letter comes after Vance, a devout Catholic, defended the administration’s immigration crackdown in a Jan. 30 post on X where he invoked the Catholic theological concept of “ordo amoris.”

“Just google ‘ordo amoris.’ Aside from that, the idea that there isn’t a hierarchy of obligations violates basic common sense,” Vance wrote. “Does Rory really think his moral duties to his own children are the same as his duties to a stranger who lives thousands of miles away? Does anyone?”

Vance’s post was in response to criticism over statements he made on Fox News:

“You love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country. And then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.”

Vance’s invocation of “ordo amoris” comes from a concept discussed by St. Augustine, the patron saint selected by Vance for his confirmation name when he became Catholic in 2019.

The phrase translates to “order of love” or “order of charity,” reports the AP.

“Now he is a man of just and holy life who … neither loves what he ought not to love, nor fails to love what he ought to love, nor loves that more which ought to be loved less, nor loves that equally which ought to be loved either less or more, nor loves that less or more which ought to be loved equally,” Augustine wrote.

“Further, all men are to be loved equally,” Augustine wrote. “But since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special regard to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you.”

But Pope Francis disagrees with Vance’s interpretation of the patron saint of brewers, calling out Vance’s use of “ordo amoris” as too fixed.

“Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups,” the Pope writes. “In other words: the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings! The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation. The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan.'”

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In a 2019 interview with the American Conservative, Vance said his views on public policy are “pretty aligned” with Catholic social teaching.

“I hope my faith makes me more compassionate and to identify with people who are struggling,” Vance said. “But my politics have been pretty consistent over the past few years. I think the Republican Party has been too long a partnership between social conservatives and market libertarians, and I don’t think social conservatives have benefited too much from that partnership. Part of social conservatism’s challenge for viability in the 21st century is that it can’t just be about issues like abortion, but it has to have a broader vision of political economy, and the common good.”

Vance has not responded to Pope Francis’ message to U.S. Catholic bishops.

Read Pope Francis’ full letter below:

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This article appears in Feb 5-18, 2025.