U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance went to the Vatican on Saturday to fulfill senior Catholic Church officers who’ve been sharply essential of his administration’s policies, within the first such in-person talks of the second Trump presidency.
Mr. Vance, a Catholic who has clashed with Pope Francis over U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, and his chief deputy.
The two sides had “cordial talks” that included “an exchange of opinions on the international situation,” in accordance with a Vatican assertion after the assembly.
Mr. Vance and Mr. Parolin spoke “especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees, and prisoners,” the assertion learn.
Pope Francis, who’s limiting his public appearances on medical doctors’ orders as he recovers from double pneumonia, didn’t participate within the assembly. Mr. Vance is visiting Italy over the Easter weekend.
The pope, Mr. Parolin and different Vatican officers have criticised a number of Trump administration policies, together with Mr. Trump’s plans to deport thousands and thousands of migrants from the U.S. and his widespread cuts to overseas support and home welfare programmes.
“This visit takes place in a delicate moment,” stated Massimo Faggioli, an Italian tutorial at Villanova University who has adopted the papacy intently. “This relationship with the U.S. is a very high priority right now for the Vatican.”
Pope Francis has known as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown a “disgrace”. Mr. Vance, who grew to become Catholic in 2019, has cited medieval-era Catholic instructing to justify the immigration crackdown.
The pope rebutted the theological idea Mr. Vance used to defend the crackdown in an uncommon open letter to the U.S. Catholic bishops concerning the Trump administration in February, and known as Mr. Trump’s plan a “major crisis” for the U.S.
“What is 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,” the pope stated then.
Church-state relations
Mr. Vance first visited the Vatican on Thursday (April 17, 2025) to attend a spiritual ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica with his household.
The Catholic Church’s worldwide charity arm has known as the Trump administration’s funding cuts to U.S. overseas support programmes “catastrophic” in phrases of its affect on the creating world.
The U.S. Catholic bishops’ convention introduced this month that, because of Trump administration cuts, it will finish a half-century of partnerships with the federal Government to supply providers to migrant and refugee populations.
Chieko Noguchi, a spokesperson for the U.S. bishops, instructed Reuters that Mr. Parolin, the Vatican cardinal, is “well-informed of the challenges faced by the Church and her institutions here” within the U.S.
“We pray that the meeting yields positive and engaging dialogue,” she stated.
The Vatican assertion stated that, throughout the Mr. Vance and Mr. Parolin assembly, “hope was expressed for serene collaboration” between the U.S. church and Government.
Published – April 19, 2025 11:55 pm IST
