Vance used 'ordo amoris' to defend deportations. Pope offers 'true' meaning
Pope Francis Tuesday weighed in on a theological debate sparked last month by Vice President JD Vance.
Vance, who was baptized Catholic in 2019, used the ancient Christian concept of “ordo amoris” to defend the deportations of migrants.
In a letter Tuesday to U.S. bishops criticizing the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts, the pope schooled the vice president and others on the term, saying it actually encourages compassion for all people.
"Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups," he wrote. "The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the 'Good Samaritan' (cf. Lk 10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception."
The term "ordo amoris," first coined by ancient bishop and theologian St. Augustine in his work, "City of God," has been translated to mean "order of love" or "order of charity." St. Augustine, whom Vance chose as his patron saint, wrote that all people should be loved equally, but that it makes sense to love and care for those who are closest to you first.
St. Thomas Aquinas, a 13th century Doctor of the Church, later expanded on the concept. He wrote there may be situations where it is ok to help a stranger "in extreme necessity, rather than one's own father, if he is not in such urgent need."
What did Vance say about ordo amoris?
While defending Trump's immigration policies during a Jan. 29 interview with Fox News, Vance described the "Christian concept that you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then, after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world."
"A lot of the far left has completely inverted that," he said. "They seem to hate the citizens of their own country and care more about people outside their own borders."
Vance's comments sparked debate among theologians and others on social media.
Rory Stewart, a former member of British Parliament, criticized the vice president's "bizarre take" as "less Christian and more pagan tribal" on the social media site X.
"Just google 'ordo amoris,'" Vance responded. "Aside from that, the idea that there isn’t a hierarchy of obligations violates basic common sense. Does Rory really think his moral duties to his own children are the same as his duties to a stranger who lives thousands of miles away? Does anyone?"
This isn't the first time Vance has clashed with Catholics over immigration. Last month, he accused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops of being more concerned with its own funding than improving immigration policy after the group decried the Trump administration's decision to allow immigration enforcement near places of worship and schools.
Where was Vance baptized?
The Middletown, Ohio native and author of "Hillbilly Elegy" was a U.S. Senator from Ohio before Trump chose him to be his running mate.
Vance was baptized Catholic at St. Gertrude Church in Cincinnati, about a 15-minute drive from his home. The church is led by the Dominican Order, according to its website, which is a religious order founded by St. Dominic in 1216.
"I became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true. I was raised Christian, but never had a super-strong attachment to any denomination, and was never baptized. When I became more interested in faith, I started out with a clean slate, and looked at the church that appealed most to me intellectually," Vance said in an interview with The American Conservative.
Vance wrote in The Lamp Magazine that Augustine's "City of God" was "the best criticism of our modern age I’d ever read."