In an act of protest, Pope Francis did not attend an official Vatican meeting with United States Vice President J.D. Vance.
Instead, he has his “No.2”, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, lecture Vance on compassion.
The Vatican’s statement on the talk between Vance and Parolin called it “an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees, and prisoners.”
Parolin is said to have called for “serene collaboration” between the White House and the Catholic Church, referring to a feud between Vance and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in January.
Vance accused them of “resettling illegal immigrants” with funding.
New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan called these accusations “scurrilous,” “nasty,” and “not true.”
The Pope has seen the USA’s mass deportations as “a grave sin”, and has corrected Vance in using Catholic terminology such as “ordo amoris” to justify deportations (for which Vance admitted his humility).
However, the Pope did have a private and brief meeting with Vance at his residence, as he is still recovering from pneumonia.
Vance visited Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and spent Easter in Rome, attending Good Friday Service at the Vatican.
