Months before Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became the first American pope, a social media account under his name expressed criticism of Vice President JD Vance, sharing an article that called the vice president’s interpretation of Christian doctrine “wrong.”
The piece, published in The National Catholic Reporter, was a rebuttal to Mr. Vance’s interpretation of a Catholic teaching that he had used to defend the Trump administration’s deportation policies.
The post on X, which the account shared in February, was one of several that highlighted articles criticizing the Trump administration’s positions on immigration.
In April, the account under Cardinal Prevost’s name shared commentary from a Catholic writer who asked whether President Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador saw “the suffering” caused by their immigration policies.
“Is your conscious not disturbed?” the writer, Rocco Palmo, wrote. “How can you stay quiet?”
In July 2015, the account reposted an article by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York that described Mr. Trump’s “anti-immigrant rhetoric” as “problematic.” Three years later, the account shared a post from Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, saying there was “nothing remotely Christian, American or morally defensible” about the administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents.
The criticism of Mr. Trump largely echoes the positions of Pope Francis, who also expressed his disagreement with the administration’s deportation policies. While Cardinal Prevost appeared to be relatively active on X, the account largely eschewed expression of his own opinions and instead reposted comments made by church leaders and articles from Catholic news outlets. It was unclear if he ran the account himself or it was operated by staff members.
At times, the account waded into other contentious areas of American politics. In 2020, it shared a statement signed by seven American bishops that said they were “broken-hearted, sickened, and outraged” by the killing of George Floyd, which they described as a “wake-up call.”
So far, Mr. Trump doesn’t seem to be holding any grudges against the pope for previous criticism. In his own post on X, the president said he looked forward to meeting the new pope.
Mr. Vance, a Catholic convert who met with Pope Francis shortly before his death, also sent well wishes on Thursday afternoon.
“Congratulations to Leo XIV, the first American Pope, on his election!” he wrote on social media. “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!”
Kate Conger contributed reporting.
