VATICAN CITY — Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday at an event hosted by Turning Point USA that the Vatican should focus on moral and church matters rather than weigh in on American public policy. The remarks came in response to recent comments by Pope Leo XIV about war.

"It would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what's going on in the Catholic church and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy," Vance said. He was speaking days after Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Catholic Church, suggested during evening prayers at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City that a "delusion of omnipotence" surrounded the Iran war.

The pope also said, "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!" On Monday, Leo declared he did not fear the Trump administration and said he would continue to speak strongly against war and for peace.

At the Tuesday event, Vance said he disagreed with the pope's comment that those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs are never disciples of Christ. "I like that the pope is an advocate for peace. I think that's certainly one of his roles. On the other hand, how can you say that God is never on the side of those who wield the sword?" he said.

Vance, a Catholic convert, also addressed the broader relationship between the White House and the Vatican. "We can respect the pope. We certainly have a good relationship with the Vatican, but we're also going to disagree on substantive questions from time to time," he said.

He added: "The president has the prerogative to set American foreign policy, he's got the prerogative to set American immigration policy. He has to look out for the interests of the United States of America, and that inevitably means that when the Vatican comments on issues of public policy, sometimes there's going to be agreement, of course, and sometimes there's going to be disagreement."