J.D. Vance Apologized for Bashing Catholic Bishops Over Their Criticism of Donald Trump Allowing Immigration Raids at Churches, Cardinal Reveals

J.D. Vance admitted he was wrong for laying into the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops after they criticized Donald Trump last year.

The vice president slammed the bishops after they released a statement in January 2025 that condemned Trump's executive order allowing immigration raids at schools and churches. Vance alleged the church was only denouncing the new policy because it profits off of immigrants.

But according to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the former archbishop of New York who delivered the invocation at both of Trump’s inaugurations, the vice president retracted his comments in private.

"He [Vance] and I had a little tete-a-tete, you probably know, when he suggested that bishops in the United States were pro-immigrant because we were making money,” Dolan revealed in a new interview published on Thursday, February 19. "And he apologized. He said, 'That was out of line and that’s not true.'''

The VP had told bishops to "look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?"

Dolan at the time called Vance's remarks "very nasty" and inaccurate."

Now, the cardinal believes the divisive politician is a "very good guy" who he agrees with on various issues, including "the family," "babies" and "patriotism."

Dolan did, however, share that he "wasn’t too happy" with Vance's lack of support for Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia.

He also confessed he's "very upset" about Trump’s mass deportation operation and slammed ICE for "going into churches and harassing churches" during his time leading the archdiocese.

Vance made headlines last month after blaming ICE shooting victim Renee Good for her death.

Vance claimed the agent who fatally shot Good in Minneapolis was acting in self-defense and that the 37-year-old mother — who had been protesting ICE's presence in the city — was a "victim of left-wing ideology."

"I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it is a tragedy of her own making," he stated.

"What I am certain of is that she violated the law," Vance told reporters following the incident. "What I'm certain of is that the officer had every reason to think that he was under very serious threat for injury or, in fact, his life."

"This was an attack on law and order," he said. "This was an attack on the American people."