Vice President JD Vance admitted that he should have worded his criticism of US Catholic bishops “more carefully” after claiming they may have been worried about their “bottom line” from helping illegal immigrants last year.
Last year, Vance, who is Catholic, responded to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) after the organization condemned the Trump administration’s policies regarding immigration raids.
In his comments, he suggested the USCCB was more concerned over its “bottom line” from losing funding rather than helping refugees.
“I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns?” Vance asked on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” in a January 2025 interview. “Or are they actually worried about their bottom line? We’re going to enforce immigration law. We’re going to protect the American people.”
Last month, more than a year after Vance’s comments, retired Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop emeritus of New York, said in an interview with EWTN News that Vance has since “apologized” for his comments, saying they were “out of line.”
Though Vance did not clarify whether he apologized to Dolan, he acknowledged that he likely spoke “too harshly” on the subject of immigration when asked on Wednesday.
“I’m not saying he’s lying, but I mean, look, sometimes I say things too harshly. I say things too directly,” Vance said in an interview with The Washington Post.
Vance added that he “could have made that comment more carefully without going too hard at” church leadership.
“I’m sure that I said something like that,” Vance added, “but I don’t remember exactly what I said.”
He recalled telling Dolan to “be careful your financial interests and the immigration issue don’t actually cloud your judgment,” though he explained the last time he spoke with Dolan “in detail” was six months ago.
Fox News Digital reached out to the USCCB and the Archdiocese of New York for comment.
In the interview, Vance also remarked that there will inevitably be “conflict between the government and the clergy” but that he hopes to come toward it with a “spirit of charity.”
“I also recognize that, you know, I have a different job, and my job is to make sure that the American people are as safe and prosperous as they can be,” Vance said. “And sometimes that means that possibly very good people that the Catholic Church are ministering to, I have to say, ‘has that person come into our country legally?’ And if not, should we try to do something to change that?’”
Vance met with top Vatican officials regarding their concerns over migrants and deportations last year.
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