JD Vance and Pope Leo: the backdrop to an inauguration

The announcement that vice-president JD Vance would attend the inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV included a simple line.

“Pope Leo XIV is the first American pope. The vice-president Vance is the first Catholic convert to be vice-president,” said the White House opinion.

It was neutral, but revealing. The first American pope holds the siege of Saint-Pierre at a time when conservative Catholicism had a political force in the United States, embodied in man first in accordance with the presidency. The relationship between the two will be one of the most watched developments in Pope Leo’s papacy.

The selection of cardinals of Pope Leo tests the tense relationship between the bishop of Rome and the American right wing. Only four Sundays ago, Mr. Vance shakes the hand of a pope who had publicly reprimanded his theology and his position on immigration, and who faced a long -standing frustration of traditionalist Catholics. This Sunday, he arrives to greet a leader who seems to share many of the opinions of his predecessor, including the direct criticism of Mr. Vance in a social media account now deleted associated with his name.

The main conservative American Catholics often say that they do not personally know Pope Leo. However, while some had the first different choices for the papacy, the Pope Leo began by positioning himself as a moderate conciliation force. Some conservatives find common points in its theology and administrative pragmatism, and even the cautious anticipation that their relationship with Rome can reset.

“He seems to be a man of deep prayer and reflection who believe in service to others and in loyalty to the doctrine of the Church and to constant teaching,” said Ashley McGuire, main member of the Catholic association. “I am optimistic that he can bring unity to the Church by a clear and compassionate leadership of the faithful.”