FULL STATEMENT - U.S. bishops rally behind Pope Leo XIV after JD Vance says pontiff should be "careful" on theology

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' doctrinal leadership moved Wednesday to publicly back Pope Leo XIV's authority on war and peace, issuing a formal clarification on just war teaching just hours after Vice President JD Vance told a Turning Point USA crowd that the pope should "be careful" when speaking about theology.

The statement, released by Bishop James Massa, chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Doctrine, is one of the clearest signs yet that the American Catholic hierarchy is closing ranks around the first U.S.-born pontiff as his confrontation with the Trump administration deepens.

The bishops' intervention did not mention President Donald Trump or Vance by name, but the timing left little doubt about the target. The USCCB statement said it was responding to "recent public comments" about Catholic teaching on war and peace. The timing also made the destinataires obvious. It came after Trump blasted Leo on social media and after Vance, a recent Catholic convert, argued at the Georgia event that the pope needed to be more careful when weighing in on theology.

This is the full statement:

WASHINGTON - In light of recent public comments regarding the Catholic Church's teaching on war and peace, Bishop James Massa, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Doctrine, issued the following statement:

For over a thousand years, the Catholic Church has taught just war theory and it is that long tradition the Holy Father carefully references in his comments on war. A constant tenet of that thousand-year tradition is a nation can only legitimately take up the sword 'in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed' (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2308). That is, to be a just war it must be a defense against another who actively wages war, which is what the Holy Father actually said: 'He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.'

When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ. The consistent teaching of the Church is insistent that all people of good will must pray and work toward lasting peace while avoiding the evils and injustices that accompany all wars."

The clash has been building for weeks, as Pope Leo XIV has emerged as one of the most forceful moral critics of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, while from the Vatican and the U.S. Catholic authorities has emerged a growing opposition to the anti-immigrant actions of the Trump administration.

On Sunday, Trump called the pope "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy," then doubled down before reporters after returning from Florida.

Pope Leo XIV said Monday that he has "no fear" of the Trump administration and will keep speaking out against war. The rethoric has only gotten worse since then after this statement it seems it wont stop any time soon.