A prominent Catholic publication has launched a fierce critique of Vice President JD Vance following his public comments defending the fatal shooting of a Minnesota mother by a federal immigration officer. The National Catholic Reporter published an opinion piece on Thursday that directly challenges Vance's interpretation of the incident and his faith.
Vance's Comments and the Shooting Incident
The controversy stems from the shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, on Wednesday. Video footage from multiple angles shows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers surrounding Good's SUV. One officer approaches her driver's-side door and pulls the handle. Good then reverses her vehicle, turns her wheels, and drives forward as an officer fires shots.
Despite this footage and a witness stating Good was "obviously scared" and trying to get away, Vice President Vance placed blame on the victim. On the social media platform X, Vance called Good "a deranged leftist" and part of a network aiming to make it impossible for ICE officers to work. He argued the tragedy falls on her and "all of the radicals who teach people that immigration is the one type of law that rioters are allowed to interfere with."
This stance aligned with the Trump administration's narrative that Good "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer," identified as Jonathan Ross. However, a New York Times video analysis found the officer was not in the SUV's path when he fired, and video shows he was never knocked down.
A Catholic Rebuttal and Accusations of Misused Faith
In response, John Grosso, digital editor of the National Catholic Reporter, authored a forceful op-ed. "As a Catholic, Vance knows better than to peddle this brand of gaslighting and agitation," Grosso wrote, slamming the Vice President's "twisted and wrongheaded view of Christianity."
Grosso accused Vance of using his Catholicism as "a political prop, a tool only for his career ambitions and desire for power." He stated that Vance's "comments justifying the death of Renee Good are a moral stain on the collective witness of our Catholic faith" and are "fundamentally incompatible with the Gospel." The piece concludes by calling for prayers for Vance's "conversion of heart."
Broader Scrutiny of Vance's Religious Interpretation
This is not the first time Vance's application of Catholic doctrine has faced scrutiny. The op-ed references how the late Pope Francis previously rebuked Vance's interpretation of "ordo amoris" (order of love), a medieval concept Vance suggested means Catholics must prioritize nonimmigrants. Pope Francis also criticized the Trump administration's deportation efforts for depriving migrants of dignity.
Furthermore, Pope Leo XIV, when he was still Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, shared an earlier National Catholic Reporter article titled "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others." This indicates high-level religious disagreement with Vance's political framing of faith-based priorities, particularly concerning immigration and human dignity.
The editorial marks a significant moment of internal religious critique within the political sphere, highlighting a deep divide over the moral interpretation of a violent incident and the role of faith in public justification.
