For Tuesday’s edition of The Late Show, CBS’s Stephen Colbert welcomed “Chaplain of the Colbert Nation” Father James Martin to discuss Pope Leo XIV. Both men agreed that one positive thing Leo brings to the papacy is that him being American will force President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to confront their immigration beliefs, with Colbert ultimately declaring, “He’ll go Inquisition on you. He’ll go Torquemada on you, baby.”
Colbert wondered, “One of the things—he had a press availability the other day, and as he was leaving, a reporter asked, ‘Do you have a message for America?’ He said ‘many.’… I'm not asking you to read the pope's mind, but reading the papal tea leaves here, what do you imagine, based upon what he has taught before and spoken about before, his message might be to those of us in the Church in America?”
Martin began by declaring, “Well, he’ll preach the Gospel in season and out, and that includes standing up for the poor. As you said earlier, he took Leo as a nod to Leo XIII who was the pope and started Catholic social teaching: standing up for workers, the migrants, the poor. He talks specifically about being with people who suffer, but again, you got to remember, he was working with people who were poor in Peru, so I think he's also going to be very strong on migrants and refugees.”
Speaking specifically on immigration, Martin continued, “I think what’s interesting is that, you know, President Trump and Vice President Vance are no longer going to be able to say, ‘The pope doesn't understand America, right, and so we can ignore him safely.’ I don't think that's going to be the case any longer. That's a prediction.”
Colbert eagerly accepted the idea, “It’s a little tough, must be tough to be JD Vance right now. A little bit tough, you know.”
Martin stayed on Vance, “Well, also, I mean, not to get too political, but, you know, JD Vance was tweeting stuff about Saint Augustine. I don’t think you want to tweet stuff about Saint Augustine with an Augustinian pope, you know, in the Vatican. He's not going to be afraid to speak his mind.
Colbert relished the idea, “No, he’ll go Inquisition on you. He’ll go Torquemada on you, baby.”
Given his acceptance and promotion of abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender ideology, Colbert should probably avoid bringing up the Inquisition and Torquemada, even if only jokingly.
Here is a transcript for the May 13 show:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
5/13/2025
11:56 PM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: One of the things—he had a press availability the other day, and as he was leaving, a reporter asked, “Do you have a message for America?” He said “many.” And then pope out. That's a minor drop right there.
JAMES MARTIN: That’s right.
COLBERT: I'm not asking you to read the pope's mind, but reading the papal tea leaves here, what do you imagine, based upon what he has taught before and spoken about before, his message might be to those of us in the Church in America?
MARTIN: Well, he’ll preach the Gospel in season and out, and that includes standing up for the poor. As you said earlier, he took Leo as a nod to Leo XIII who was the pope and started Catholic social teaching: standing up for workers, the migrants, the poor. He talks specifically about being with people who suffer, but again, you got to remember, he was working with people who were poor in Peru, so I think he's also going to be very strong on migrants and refugees, so I think what’s interesting is that, you know, President Trump and Vice President Vance are no longer going to be able to say, "The pope doesn't understand America, right, and so we can ignore him safely." I don't think that's going to be the case any longer. That's a prediction.
COLBERT: It’s a little tough, must be tough to be JD Vance right now. A little bit tough, you know.
MARTIN: Well, also, I mean, not to get too political, but, you know, JD Vance was tweeting stuff about Saint Augustine. I don’t think you want to tweet stuff about Saint Augustine with an Augustinian pope, you know, in the Vatican. He's not going to be afraid to speak his mind.
COLBERT: No, he’ll go Inquisition on you. He’ll go Torquemada on you, baby.
