'Clash with Catholic Church' escalates as Trump VP insists he never apologized to cardinal

Recollections differ between Vice President JD Vance and former New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan when it comes to their clash over immigration and the Catholic Church’s support for migrants.

Democratic operative Christopher Hale on X described Vance’s "escalating" clash with the Catholic Church.

Catholic convert Vance has stated that the Trump administration’s immigration policies prioritize the needs of American citizens, families and communities. That puts him at odds at times with the church on immigration issues.

Things peaked in a January 2025 interview in which Vance questioned whether the church’s pro-immigrant stance was influenced by financial gain to resettle immigrants using federal funds.

Dolan called the comments “nasty” and “untrue and scurrilous.” However, Dolan later said in a Feb. 19 interview with Catholic news outlet EWTN TV that Vance had apologized.

However, in a Washington Post interview, Vance claims such an apology didn’t happen, but hedged on specifics.

“I’m not saying he’s lying, but I mean, look, sometimes I say things too harshly. I say things too directly,” Vance said. He added that he told Dolan to “be careful your financial interests and the immigration issue don’t actually cloud your judgment.”

“I’m sure that I said something like that,” Vance added, “but I don’t remember exactly what I said.”

While Vance acknowledged the church has a duty to “minister to everybody,” he said he has a different duty.

“So that is going to inevitably lead to conflict between the government and the clergy,” Vance said. “What I try to do is come at that conflict in a spirit of charity.”