Two weeks ago, Cardinal Timothy Dolan told EWTN — the largest Catholic media network in the world — that Vance had privately apologized to him for falsely accusing the Catholic bishops of profiting off migrants.
Dolan said Vance told him his accusation was “out of line” and “not true.” It was a rare moment of accountability from one of the most powerful men in the country.
Now Vance is telling a very different story.
In this morning’s Washington Post interview, Vance was asked directly about Dolan’s claim. His answer was remarkable — not for what it said, but for what it so carefully avoided saying.
Vance told the Post he “didn’t recall exactly” what he said to Dolan, and that the last time they spoke “in detail” was roughly six months ago. “I’m not saying he’s lying,” Vance said, “but I mean, look, sometimes I say things too harshly. I say things too directly.”
He recalled telling Dolan that the bishops needed to “be careful your financial interests and the immigration issue don’t actually cloud your judgment.”
He acknowledged he “could have made that comment more carefully without going too hard at” Church leadership. “I’m sure that I said something like that,” Vance added, “but I don’t remember exactly what I said.”
Read that again.
Dolan said Vance told him in Rome last year that his accusation was “out of line” and “not true” — and apologized. Vance says he told Dolan to “be careful” that money doesn’t “cloud your judgment.” Those are not the same thing. One is an apology. The other is a warning.
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