Weekly Roundup: Trump, Vance, and Just War Theory + Pete'...

What this episode covers

Religion scholars Brad Onishi and Dan Miller recap a week of conflict in which Pope Leo criticized war and bombing in a statement widely read as aimed at the U.S. approach to Iran, prompting a lengthy Trump Truth Social attack and backlash over an AI image of Trump as Jesus. JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson told the Pope to “stay in his lane” and invoked just war theory, leading Miller to explain its criteria and argue the Iran conflict fails them; the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a response defending the Pope’s teaching authority and the church’s just war tradition. The hosts frame the dispute as exposing fissures within MAGA Christian nationalism, discuss claims of nationalism turning the nation and leader into God, and analyze Pete Hegseth’s rhetoric and prayer language as further evidence, alongside GOP figures and media urging the Pope to avoid politics while promoting religion in government. 00:00 Pope Versus Trump 01:07 Why Religion Matters 02:03 Iran War And Distraction 03:22 Papal Statement And Trump Blowup 04:16 AI Jesus Backlash 06:37 JD Vance Enters Fight 09:00 Pope Warns War Profiteers 10:14 Mike Johnson Just War Spin 11:53 Just War Theory Explained 15:58 Bishops Rebuke Vance 18:39 Fissures In Christian Nationalism 21:25 Aquinas And War As Evil 27:14 MAGA Splits And Catholic Voters 29:22 Vance Authority Christianity 32:32 Power Theology And Nationalism 35:33 Vance Versus Just War 37:07 Hegseth Pulp Prayer 38:57 Vengeance Voice Swap 44:35 TPUSA Flop Fallout 47:35 Trump As Messiah 52:27 GOP Tells Pope Quiet 56:21 One Way Christian Nationalism 59:16 Who Counts As Christian 01:03:40 Task Force Irony 01:05:35 Reasons For Hope 01:08:40 Discord Hope Stories 01:08:55 Closing Hope Notes Subscribe for $3.65: ⁠https://axismundi.supercast.com/⁠ Subscribe to our free newsletter: ⁠https://swaj.substack.com/⁠ Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠ Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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This episode is 1 hour and 14 minutes long.

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This episode was published on April 17, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Religion scholars Brad Onishi and Dan Miller recap a week of conflict in which Pope Leo criticized war and bombing in a statement widely read as aimed at the U.S. approach to Iran, prompting a lengthy Trump Truth Social attack and backlash over an...

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