Morality, policy, false dichotomy

Catching up on the news.

From The New York Times:

Mr. Vance, a convert to Catholicism who is about to publish a book detailing his turn to the faith, brushed off a backlash among Christians across the political spectrum to President Trump’s attacks against Pope Leo XIV. He said “that in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality.” Mr. Trump has clashed with the pontiff over matters of war and immigration, and on Sunday attacked him as “weak on crime.”

“Stick to matters of, you know, what’s going on in the Catholic Church,” Mr. Vance said on Fox News’s Special Report with Bret Baier when asked by Mr. Baier if he agreed with Mr. Trump’s attacks against the pope. “And let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.” He added: “When they are in conflict, they are in conflict. I don’t worry about it too much.”

It’s so painfully obvious, but since I haven’t seen it said, I’ll say it: to cast morality and policy as separate matters is to create a false dichotomy. The only question is what kind of morality, or lack thereof, shapes policy.