In February, without naming names, the Pope directly refuted a Catholic concept Vance had twisted to justify deportations. Vance had cited ordo amoris—the “order of love”—to argue that Americans should come first.

Francis responded: “Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups.”

Vance, acknowledging the rebuke, called himself a “baby Catholic” and admitted, “there are things about the faith that I don’t know.”

Dude, I’m not Catholic at all and I could have told you that. It’s not really complicated to see that Catholic interpretation Jesus would whip you out of the temple.