Love thy neighbor? Pope Leo XIV contradicts US Vice President: "Vance is wrong"

Can charity be graduated? US Vice President JD Vance and Pope Leo XIV are facing off on a fundamental issue. At stake is nothing less than the moral heart of Christianity.

"You love your family first, then your neighbors, then your community, then your fellow citizens in your own country - and only then can you take care of the rest of the world." For JD Vance, Vice President of the USA, this is the logical order of Christian charity.

In a TV interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News at the end of January, he set out a hierarchy of care that has also been taught by the Catholic Church for decades.

However, his position has caused displeasure in the Vatican and a pointed response from the highest authorities.

"JD Vance is wrong"

Pope Francis, who died on April 21 , reacted promptly at the time: Christian love is not forgiven "piecemeal" in ever weaker concentric circles.

Mediation in the Ukraine warPope Leo XIV speaks with US Vice President JD Vance

Pope Leo XIV took up the topic bluntly. An article in the US Catholic magazine "National Catholic Reporter" was quoted on the X account, which is still associated with Leo from his time as a cardinal: "JD Vance is wrong. Jesus does not ask us to prioritize our love."

The historian John Connelly from the University of California now sheds light on the roots of this controversy in an article in the Washington Post. He shows: What seems like a reactionary slip today was once Catholic consensus.

Family, people, religion

Christians have always argued about how the message of Jesus should be properly understood. There are four gospels, not just one - they have different emphases and sometimes even contradict each other. Added to this are centuries of church tradition. JD Vance refers to ancient teachings, and indeed his view was common Catholic moral theology until the 1960s.

In the standard work "Moral Theology" by the German Capuchin priest Heribert Jone from 1941, it says: "We must preferentially love our neighbors with whom we are most closely connected."

And: "Since blood relationships form the basis of all other bonds, blood relatives (at least first-degree relatives) enjoy the highest priority." Family, people, religion - that was the guiding principle. Such "ordered love" was sacrosanct for a long time.

Charity as a justification for anti-Semitism

In the first half of the 20th century in particular, however, it was misused by high church dignitaries to justify anti-Semitic behavior.

In 1936, Poland's August Hlond openly called for a boycott of Jewish businesses. And Germany's Cardinal Bertram spoke of a "duty to love one's people and fatherland". This moral-theologically based hierarchy of charity became the silent legitimization for turning a blind eye during the Shoah.

It was the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) that marked the turning point: Away from normative sets of rules, towards lived mercy. At the end of the Council, Pope Paul VI declared that the parable of the Good Samaritan was at the heart of Christian spirituality.

From a set of rules to compassion in practice

In it, a teacher of the law simply leaves an injured man lying there. Help comes from a stranger. This is a clear rejection of any hierarchization of love. This was even considered dangerous.

Leo XIV, the new pope from Chicago, is now following in these footsteps. Like his predecessor Francis, he emphasizes universal and boundless love: without ranks, without borders. His biography speaks for itself. He lived in Peru for years, sharing the lives of the local people. "If you want to help, you have to become one of them," is his credo.

The historian John Connelly also clearly states that those who limit charity to national boundaries miss the message of Jesus. The Good Samaritan does not help even though he is a stranger, but precisely because he is. Jesus taught that closeness does not come about through origin, but through action.