CNN Host Schools Catholic Panelist Using 1 Holy Takedown Of Vance’s Pope Talk | EUROtoday

CNN host Abby Phillip on Wednesday took on a Catholic panelist who tried to go to bat for Vice President JD Vance after he warned that Pope Leo XIV ought to “be careful” and never get political when discussing “matters of theology.”

“Do you think that JD Vance knows more about Catholic theology than the pope?” requested Phillip of Caroline Downey, a columnist for the conservative National Review who described herself as a practising Catholic.

Downey tried to defend Vance, who’s Catholic, over his warning as these in Donald Trump’s camp, together with Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), made finger wags towards the U.S.-born pontiff, who has dialed up his criticism of conflict and angered the president within the course of.

She referred to the pope’s Palm Sunday homily, the place, per a translation from the Vatican, he emphasised that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

Downey argued that it’s “totally normal” for the pope to make United Nations spokesperson-like statements towards conflict earlier than claiming that Leo was being “a bit precarious” and will have confused Catholics about conflict.

“Because does that mean the war to fight [Adolf] Hitler and World War II, was that unjustified?” requested Downey, who cautioned that popes ought to use “precision and exactitude” with their language.

“The war against the Soviet Union ― was that unjustified?” Downey continued. “I’m just saying that to say that he should be a little bit more precise…”

Phillip proceeded to leap in and turned to phrases “straight from the Catholic Church.”

Bishop James Massa used a press release this week to make clear that the church has addressed the “Just War Theory” for a thousand years and taught that nations “can only legitimately take up the sword ‘in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed.’”

After Phillip learn the assertion on air and hit Downey together with her query on Vance, the columnist argued that it’s “up to lay Catholics,” per the Second Vatican Council, “to decide what that means for temporal matters.”

Downey added, “Just because the pope makes some sort of dictate on political issues, that’s not a religious proclamation.”