US Vice President JD Vance held a private and "quick" meeting with Pope Francis at the Pontiff’s residence, Casa Santa Marta, in Vatican City.
The meeting took place against the backdrop of ongoing tensions between the Vatican and the Trump administration, particularly over the US President’s policies on immigration and cuts to international aid, Caliber.Az reports, citing Sky News.
Details of the meeting remain scarce, but it was confirmed that Vance, who is in Rome with his family, also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's number two, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister. In a statement, the Vatican described the encounter as involving an "exchange of opinions" regarding international conflicts, migrants, and prisoners. The talks were characterized as "cordial," and the Vatican expressed its satisfaction with the Trump administration’s stance on protecting freedom of religion and conscience.
The Vatican’s statement noted that the discussion focused on countries facing war, political unrest, and severe humanitarian crises, with particular attention to issues concerning migrants, refugees, and prisoners. The Pope, who has been recovering from a recent hospitalization due to double pneumonia, has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration's immigration policies. Francis previously called the administration's deportation plans a "disgrace" and has voiced concerns about the impact of such policies on human dignity.
Vance, a Catholic convert in 2019, has defended the administration's stance on immigration by citing medieval-era Catholic teachings. This theological justification for the crackdown was met with strong criticism from the Pope, who, in February, sent an open letter to US Catholic bishops denouncing the Trump administration's immigration policies as a "major crisis" for the country. In the letter, Pope Francis warned that any policy "built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly."
Despite the Pope's criticism, Vance has remained steadfast in his views, acknowledging the Pontiff’s opposition but continuing to defend the policies he supports. At a National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in February, Vance, identifying as a "baby Catholic," admitted there were aspects of the faith he did not fully understand but refrained from addressing the specific issue of immigration.
By Khagan Isayev
Source: caliber.az
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