A leading Catholic newspaper has made it clear that Vice President JD Vance has chosen to serve Trump rather than follow the teachings of Jesus.
“In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus famously proclaimed, ’No one can serve two masters,’” began an op‑ed written for the National Catholic Reporter in response to Vance’s reaction to the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, 37, by at least two masked federal agents in a Minneapolis street on Saturday.
Following the shooting, 41-year-old Vance—who converted to Catholicism in 2019 and wrote that his conversion “demanded” that he forgive “even those who wronged me”—went on to repost a post on X written by Stephen Miller. The architect of some of the Trump administration’s harshest policies called Pretti an “assassin” before any official information about what happened at the scene was confirmed.
On Sunday, the Catholic vice president sought to justify the Minneapolis shooting, claiming federal immigration officers were the “victims,” as the Department of Homeland Security’s largest-ever enforcement operation unfolded amid citywide anti-ICE protests.
The vice president seemed to ignore video evidence from the scene of Pretti’s death that contradicts the Trump administration’s claim that he was a “domestic terrorist.” Footage showed federal agents forcing Pretti to the ground, with one officer allegedly seen removing a gun from his waistband—a weapon Pretti is never seen reaching for and was legally allowed to carry—before multiple shots are fired.
“As a Catholic, Vance could have chosen to share the Gospel message of healing and human dignity. Instead, he chose to offer the MAGA message of division and blame,” wrote journalist John Grosso on Wednesday.
It was the second time the National Catholic Reporter called the vice president. The publication branded him a “moral stain” earlier this month following his reaction to the killing of Renee Good, a 37‑year‑old mother of three, shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, 43, in Minneapolis.
Similar to the Catholic paper, U.S. bishops have urged “all people of good will” to pray for Pretti and his loved ones.
“While we rightly thirst for God’s justice and hunger for his peace, this will be not be achieved until we are able to rid our hearts of the hatreds and prejudices that prevent us from seeing each other as brothers and sisters created in the image and likeness of God,” Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda wrote in a statement following the Saturday shooting.
Vance’s views and actions have previously drawn scrutiny from two heads of the Catholic Church to which he belongs.
In April, Pope Francis sent a cardinal to lecture the vice president on “the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees, and prisoners.”
Meanwhile, before becoming pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, then Cardinal Robert Prevost, criticized Vance, calling his remarks in a Fox News interview about Christianity “wrong,” and emphasizing that “Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
“The vice president’s cafeteria Catholicism must continue to be repudiated by people of faith,” Grosso wrote in Wednesday’s op-ed, telling Catholic readers that it is time to “choose who our master is.”
“Do we serve Donald Trump? Or do we serve Jesus?” Grosso wrote, adding, “Only one of them leads to salvation. We should choose wisely.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Vance’s representatives for comment.
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