Vance's Theology

Among the things I learned from Sunday’s New York Times is that JD Vance trolled Pope Leo, when they met back in May.

I learned about the trolling in a letter to the editor from Allen J. Wiener, a reader in Florida, alerting me to an article that I’d previously missed, by Randy Boyagoda, a professor and novelist. 

So, thank you, Mr. Wiener.

Intrigued by Wiener’s letter I tracked down Boyagoda’s essay and discovered that…

Vance’s gone through several religious transformations. Raised a protestant, he became an atheist before seeing the light, so to speak, and converting to Catholicism—coincidentally, right around the time he began plotting his career in Ohio politics.

Now, I’m not saying Vance found his way to catholicism, having come to the realization that voters in Ohio, or any state really, would never, ever elect an atheist to anything, much less the U.S. Senate. 

I’m sure Vance’s religious awakening was heartfelt and had nothing to do with his political ambitions. Got that, people–nothing to do with his political ambitions!

Apparently, Vance is what my Catholic friends call a “cafeteria Catholic,” meaning he picks and chooses the dictates of the church that he will follow and disregards the rest.

For instance, he opposes abortion on the grounds that every life is sacred but favors the death penalty on the grounds that not every life sacred. 

Vance feels justified to pick and choose what tenets he’ll follow thanks to his creative interpretation of City of God, a book written by St. Augustine in the fifth century.

In that book St. Augustine lays out the theological concept of “ordo amoris”--which means, the ranking of our loves. 

Augustine of Hippo...

According to Boyagoda, St. Augustine establishes a “`hierarchy of human associations’ for carrying out Christianity’s foundational imperative: to love others. `First,’ he writes. `we have the home; then the city; finally, the globe.’” So if you see things like Vance…

That means it’s okay to hate immigrants, whether you know them or not. Or to say they’re “poisoning the blood” of real Americans. As Trump said. Or to claim they’re eating pet dogs and cats. As Trump and Vance said. And to send in ICE’s goon squads to snatch them off the street, throw them in jail and deport them to anyplace that will take him.

Yeah, it’s okay to do all that provided you love your family, your community and yourself. 

Pope Leo doesn’t it see it like Vance. He believes Christians have an obligation to love the immigrant and to welcome them to their communities and treat them with respect.

Furthermore, Pope Leo believes Vance is misreading St. Augustine. Or as Boyagoda writes, the pope “responds more to the aspirational than the realist dimension of Augustine’s text, reminding Christians that they are hoping to become permanent citizens of heaven rather than just temporary citizens of one flawed country. Thus, their love, demonstrated through practical aids and support, should not be strictly constrained by national borders.”

When they met, Vance handed Pope Leo a copy of City of God under the guise of sharing an appreciation for this ancient text. But I think that Vance was using the gift as a pretext to stick in the needle and let the pope know that he, Vance, doesn’t give a shit what the pope thinks of Trump’s “round-`em-up” immigration policy. 

Instead, he, Vance, will do whatever he wants—so long as Trump approves, of course. Don’t forget that part. And if Pope Leo doesn’t like it, well, he can take it up with St. Augustine. 

Kinda ballsy move by Vance, in a sneaky, passive aggressive way.

Guess you can add the pope to the list of people, laws and institutions Vance feels no compulsion to abide by, provided he stays in the good graces of Boss Donnie, ruler of his universe, commander of his faith. Like I said—don’t forget that part.