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Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock (Ga.) expressed concern Sunday about Vice President Vance criticizing Pope Leo XIV.
Warnock, a Baptist pastor, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he is “glad” that Vance wrote about his religious journey in his new book “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.”
The George Democrat told host Jake Tapper, “I take his Christian confession at his word. I don’t question that.”
Warnock, however, went on to criticize Vance for saying the pope should be “careful” when opining on theological matters earlier this year.
The first American-born pontiff has pushed back on the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign and the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
“The pope, in the light of this illegal war of choice in Iran, began to talk about peace. And I couldn’t but chuckle a bit to hear… this new convert say that the pope needs to be careful when he’s talking about theology, that I guess he ought to stay in his lane,” Warnock added, referring to Vance.
“And so I just worry that sometimes… religion becomes one more tool in the ideological toolbox,” the Georgia senator continued. “My faith is not a weapon. It is a bridge.”
In the early weeks of the war with Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cited scripture to justify strikes against Tehran. He said in March on CBS News’s “60 Minutes” that the U.S. is “fighting religious fanatics” in Iran.
“I’m a man of faith who encourages our troops to lean into their faith, rely on God,” he told Major Garrett. “There’s no atheists in foxholes.”
On Sunday, Warnock also referenced when House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other GOP lawmakers gathered in prayer before passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer.
The massive tax and spending bill made changes to eligibility criteria for programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which could result in less Americans having access to those benefits, according to research from the Congressional Budget Office.
“After they prayed, they cut a trillion dollars out of Medicaid,” Warnock said. “They cut SNAP and kicked people off of their health care.
“And so I just want to know, what… were they praying about?”
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