A Chicago Cardinal's Final Social Media Post Before Becoming Pope Sparked Controversy
Pope Leo XIV publishes critical articles on X platform concerning Vance and Trump ahead of the papal election. - Pope Leo XIV privately disseminated critical pieces concerning Vance and Trump at X
Exciting news broke on Thursday, as the Vatican announced the new Pope, Leo XIII, hailing from Chicago. Before taking the helm, this former cardinal spoke his mind on social media, specifically targeting Vice President JD Vance and former President Donald Trump in relation to immigration policies and faith.
In a now famous post, the cardinal took issue with Vance's application of Catholic teaching to advocate for Washington's significant cuts to foreign aid, following Trump's inauguration. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, argued that Christians should prioritize their family above all else before considering the needs of the rest of the world, referencing a quote from the 12th-century theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas on the order of love for others.
A few days later, the cardinal shared an article critical of Vance's response to the late Pope Francis' criticism of the U.S. government's mass deportations.
Before the papal election, the cardinal's final social media activity was a post condemning the U.S. government's erroneous deportation of a migrant to El Salvador.
Despite these criticisms, neither Trump nor Vance drew attention to these posts in their congratulatory messages to the newly elected Pope.
On Thursday, Vance, who met with Pope Francis a few hours before his death on Easter Sunday, expressed his condolences, saying, "May God bless him!" He is confident that "millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful leadership at the head of the Church."
Trump, who referred to the election of a U.S. cardinal as "the first American Pope," described it as an "honor" for the United States and expressed eagerness to meet the new Pope. "This will be a significant moment," Trump wrote on his online platform Truth Social.
Context:
Before his election as Pope, Robert Prevost frequently used his social media account to endorse op-eds and opinion pieces that challenged Vance's stance on faith, urging a more compassionate approach to migration. For example, the account reposted an op-ed by Washington, D.C. auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar, questioning the morality of rapid deportations of Salvadoran migrants under the Trump administration[2]. In another instance, the account highlighted a piece from the progressive Catholic publication National Reporter, suggesting that Vance's views contradicted the teachings of Jesus on love and care for others[2]. These criticisms reflect Prevost's wider disapproval of the hardline immigration stances endorsed by both Vance and Trump before his election as Pope[1][2].
- Robert Prevost, the newly elected Pope Leo XIII's former Chicago Cardinal, had posted critically about J.D. Vance and Donald Trump's immigration policies before his papal election, specifically targeting Vance's application of Catholic teaching to advocate for cuts in foreign aid.
- Even before the papal election, Prevost's social media was active, sharing an article critical of Vance's response to Pope Francis' criticism of the U.S. government's mass deportations and condoning the erroneous deportation of a migrant to El Salvador.
- In a now famous post, Prevost took issue with Vance's quote from Thomas Aquinas on the order of love for others, arguing that it failed to prioritize the needs of the world over family.
- Despite these criticisms, both Trump and Vance, during their congratulatory messages to the newly elected Pope, made no mention of these posts.
