=
After Tension and Quarrels, Vice President Will Today (Perhaps) Meet the Pope after Easter Blessing
Published in il Giornale
(Italy) on 20 April 2025
by Fabio Marchese Ragona (link to original)
(Italy) on 20 April 2025
by Fabio Marchese Ragona (link to original)
Translated from
by Haris Roberts.
Edited by .
A possible meeting after difficult months of disagreements between the U.S. and the Holy See regarding migration and the rights of immigrants. Yesterday, a new surprise from Pope Francis.
For days, Pope Francis’ closest collaborators have been working to solidify a meeting, albeit brief, with Vice President JD Vance during his Easter vacation in Rome. Although not an official meeting, an unofficial one at the pope’s residence in Casa Santa Marta is likely. An official state visit to the Holy See has already been undertaken by the vice president in which he met Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. It is believed that Donald Trump’s right-hand man will meet Pope Francis this morning after Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square. The U.S. vice president is expected to attend the Solemn Mass, which will be celebrated by the pope’s delegate, Cardinal Angelo Comastri. If his health is up to it, and weather permitting, the pope should arrive in the square for the Easter blessing, which is written into the service booklet for the mass. The pope has also expressed the desire to be there, after his latest surprise appearance yesterday in the basilica. In any case, no one but the pontiff himself can impart this most solemn apostolic blessing.
After the Easter blessing, there could be a handshake between the pontiff and Vance, along with his wife and three children. The vice president, a “baby Catholic” who only converted to the faith in 2019, has already participated in the Good Friday Passion liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica. Then, yesterday morning, he had his audience with Cardinal Parolin. In a relaxed atmosphere, at times accompanied by some jokes, “There was 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."
On the topic of immigration, in recent months there have been moments of tension between the church and the Trump administration. The U.S. bishop’s conference has sued the administration for the cuts made to humanitarian funds that were already allocated to aid refugees. Even Pope Francis, in a letter to the American episcopate, had to correct Vice President Vance, who in the past had translated St. Augustine’s ordo amoris, “the right ordering of love,” as stating that one must care for one’s own countrymen first before foreigners. In the letter, Pope Francis had instead specified that “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ (cf. Lk 10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”
Frictions between the Holy See and the White House were also recorded some months ago, with new appointments: pending the Vatican’s approval, Trump has already named as his new ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote and a friend of Vance. He is described as a conservative Catholic with positions opposed to the pope on issues such as migrants and the reception of the LGBTQ+ community into the church.
For his part, Pope Francis chose Cardinal McElroy as the new archbishop of Washington, considered a thorn in the side of the White House, precisely on the issues of welcoming and openness toward the gay community.
For days, Pope Francis’ closest collaborators have been working to solidify a meeting, albeit brief, with Vice President JD Vance during his Easter vacation in Rome. Although not an official meeting, an unofficial one at the pope’s residence in Casa Santa Marta is likely. An official state visit to the Holy See has already been undertaken by the vice president in which he met Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. It is believed that Donald Trump’s right-hand man will meet Pope Francis this morning after Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square. The U.S. vice president is expected to attend the Solemn Mass, which will be celebrated by the pope’s delegate, Cardinal Angelo Comastri. If his health is up to it, and weather permitting, the pope should arrive in the square for the Easter blessing, which is written into the service booklet for the mass. The pope has also expressed the desire to be there, after his latest surprise appearance yesterday in the basilica. In any case, no one but the pontiff himself can impart this most solemn apostolic blessing.
After the Easter blessing, there could be a handshake between the pontiff and Vance, along with his wife and three children. The vice president, a “baby Catholic” who only converted to the faith in 2019, has already participated in the Good Friday Passion liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica. Then, yesterday morning, he had his audience with Cardinal Parolin. In a relaxed atmosphere, at times accompanied by some jokes, “There was 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."
On the topic of immigration, in recent months there have been moments of tension between the church and the Trump administration. The U.S. bishop’s conference has sued the administration for the cuts made to humanitarian funds that were already allocated to aid refugees. Even Pope Francis, in a letter to the American episcopate, had to correct Vice President Vance, who in the past had translated St. Augustine’s ordo amoris, “the right ordering of love,” as stating that one must care for one’s own countrymen first before foreigners. In the letter, Pope Francis had instead specified that “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ (cf. Lk 10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”
Frictions between the Holy See and the White House were also recorded some months ago, with new appointments: pending the Vatican’s approval, Trump has already named as his new ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote and a friend of Vance. He is described as a conservative Catholic with positions opposed to the pope on issues such as migrants and the reception of the LGBTQ+ community into the church.
For his part, Pope Francis chose Cardinal McElroy as the new archbishop of Washington, considered a thorn in the side of the White House, precisely on the issues of welcoming and openness toward the gay community.
Previous article![]( "Trump, Panama and the Canal")
Next article![]( "The Dismantling of Meta Is the Only Weapon against Its Dangerous Concentration of Power")