EWTN News portal reports that Vice President JD Vance praised the encyclical *Magnifica Humanitas* by “Pope” Leo XIV, calling it “profound” and advocating for the “updating” of immutable Catholic doctrine, including “just war” theory, to align with “new technologies” and a “new world.” This statement is a direct and unequivocal endorsement of the modernist heresy of the evolution of dogmas, standing in stark contradiction to the perennial teaching of the Catholic Church.
The Heresy of Doctrinal Evolution: A Direct Assault on Immutable Truth
Vice President JD Vance’s assertion that “the way you apply those principles does [change], because the world changes” regarding morality, and his call to “update ‘just war’ doctrine” and “rethink the entire Catholic social teaching in light of the new world,” constitutes a manifest heresy. This statement directly contradicts the unchanging and infallible teaching of the Catholic Church, which holds that truth is immutable and cannot change with human circumstances or epochs.
The Church has consistently condemned the notion that dogmas or moral principles are subject to “evolution” or “updating.” Pope St. Pius X, in his encyclical Pascendi Dominici gregis (1907), unequivocally condemned the modernist error that “dogmas, sacraments, and hierarchy… are merely modes of explanation and stages in the evolution of Christian consciousness” (Proposition 54) and that “Christian doctrine was initially Jewish, but through gradual development, it became first Pauline, then Johannine, and finally Greek and universal” (Proposition 60). The Syllabus of Errors of Pope Pius IX (1864) explicitly condemned the proposition that “Divine revelation is imperfect, and therefore subject to a continual and indefinite progress, corresponding with the advancement of human reason” (Proposition 5) and that “truth changes with man, because it develops with him, in him, and through him” (Proposition 58).
Vance’s call to “rethink” Catholic social teaching in light of a “new world” is precisely the “false striving for novelty” and the “development of dogmas as appears to be their corruption” that the Church has always rejected. The moral principles governing warfare, like all moral truths, are derived from the eternal law of God and are not subject to human “updates” or “rethinking” based on technological advancements or shifting societal norms. This is a clear abandonment of the lex aeterna (eternal law) in favor of a relativistic and humanistic approach.
The “Encyclical” Itself: A Symptom of the Conciliar Apostasy
The very existence of an encyclical like *Magnifica Humanitas*, which Vance praises for its “profound” attempt to “update” doctrine, is a testament to the deep theological bankruptcy of the post-conciliar structures. Authentic papal encyclicals, such as Pope Pius XI’s Quas Primas (1925), which instituted the Feast of Christ the King, serve to reaffirm and apply immutable truths to contemporary conditions, never to alter or “update” those truths themselves. Pius XI explicitly stated that “the hope of lasting peace will not yet shine upon nations as long as individuals and states renounce and do not wish to recognize the reign of our Savior” and that “the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ.” His encyclical was a call to return to obedience to Christ’s unchanging law, not to adapt that law to a “new world.”
The conciarist “encyclicals,” by contrast, consistently prioritize human experience, “new ways of human beings interacting,” and “new technologies” over divine revelation. This inversion of the proper order, where human reason and worldly progress dictate the interpretation of God’s law, is a hallmark of the modernist heresy. It transforms the Church from the divinely instituted guardian of truth into a mere advisory body for secular progress, a “paramasonic structure” that seeks to reconcile itself with “progress, liberalism and modern civilization” (Syllabus of Errors, Proposition 80).
Vance’s Contradictory Stance: A Modernist Dilemma
Vice President Vance’s comments reveal a profound internal contradiction typical of those who embrace modernism while claiming fidelity to the Church. On one hand, he claims to “respect and admire Leo” and likes “that the pope is an advocate for peace,” while on the other, he critiques Leo for “weighing in on the Iran war,” suggesting the “Vatican stick to matters of morality” and “whatʼs going on in the Catholic Church.” This compartmentalization of faith and public life, where the Church’s moral authority is acknowledged in principle but dismissed when it conflicts with secular policy, is a direct consequence of the very “rethinking” Vance advocates.
If, as Vance claims, the principles of morality are fixed, then the Church’s pronouncements on war, peace, and public policy are equally immutable and binding. To suggest that the Church should “stick to matters of morality” while simultaneously advocating for the “updating” of that morality is self-refuting. It exposes a fundamental misunderstanding, or outright rejection, of the Church’s divinely ordained mission to teach, govern, and lead all to eternal happiness, a mission that encompasses every aspect of human life, including warfare and public policy, as clearly stated by Pius XI in Quas Primas: “His reign, namely, extends not only to Catholic nations… but His reign encompasses also all non-Christians, so that most truly the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ.”
The Goal: Dethroning Christ the King
The ultimate aim of statements like Vance’s, and the “encyclicals” that inspire them, is the complete dethronement of Christ the King from His rightful place over individuals, families, and nations. By advocating for the “updating” of doctrine to fit a “new world,” they implicitly deny the universal and perpetual Lordship of Jesus Christ. Pope Pius XI, in Quas Primas, unequivocally declared that “the State, as being the origin and source of all rights, is endowed with a certain right not circumscribed by any limits” (Syllabus of Errors, Proposition 39) is an error, and that “rulers of states… fulfill this duty themselves and with their people, if they wish to maintain their authority inviolate and contribute to the increase of their homelandʼs happiness.”
Vance’s call for “rethinking” Catholic social teaching in light of a “new world” is a call to submit divine law to human expediency, to replace the Regnum Christi (Kingdom of Christ) with the Regnum Hominis (Kingdom of Man). This is the very essence of the secularism and laicism that Pius XI identified as a “plague that poisons human society,” a “crime” that “began with the denial of Christ the Lord’s reign over all nations.” It is a direct path to the destruction of true freedom, order, and peace, which can only flourish when individuals, families, and states publicly recognize and obey the unchanging authority of Christ the King.
Source:
Vice President Vance calls Magnifica Humanitas ‘profound’ (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 26.05.2026