Washington DC - Vice President JD Vance, a self-described devout Catholic, told the Pope to "stick to matters of morality" as he defended President Donald Trump's unprecedented attacks on the pontiff.

His comments came after Trump entered a war of words with Pope Leo XIV, who condemned the devastating US-Israeli war on Iran and Lebanon.

Trump lashed out in response, bizarrely accusing the American pope of being "weak on crime."

When asked by Bret Baier of Fox News what his thoughts were about the clash, Vance said that it was not "newsworthy" and praised the president for his lack of a filter.

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He also justified a Trump post which featured AI image depicting the president as Jesus Christ, claiming that it was just a misunderstood joke.

Vance went on to claim that it was "totally reasonable" that Trump has disagreements with Leo, but that he doesn't lend much thought to it.

"I certainly think that in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality," Vance told Baier. "Let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy."

"When they are in conflict, they are in conflict. I don't worry about it too much," he continued. "We can respect the pope, we certainly have a good relationship with the Vatican."

After hastily deleting his post amid mounting outrage, Trump laughably claimed that he thought the AI-generated image showed him as a doctor, not Jesus Christ.