Vatican City (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Saturday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited the Vatican to meet with senior officials of the Catholic Church, who have been vocal critics of his administration’s policies. This marked the first in-person discussions during the second Trump presidency.
Vance, a Catholic who has had disagreements with Pope Francis regarding U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, arrived at the Vatican just before 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) for discussions with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, and his deputies. On Thursday, Vance first visited the Vatican with his family to attend a religious ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Francis, under a doctor’s advice to limit public appearances during his recovery from double pneumonia, was not anticipated to participate. Meanwhile, Vance is in Italy for the Easter weekend.
In what ways does the Vatican critique Trump’s policies?
The pope, along with Parolin and other Vatican officials, has criticised various policies of the Trump administration. This includes Trump’s proposals to deport millions of migrants in the U.S. and his significant reductions in foreign aid and domestic welfare programmes.
Francis referred to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown as a “disgrace. ” Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, has invoked medieval Catholic teachings to support this immigration policy.
In February, the pope countered the theological concept that Vance used to justify the crackdown in a unique open letter to the U.S. Catholic bishops, describing Trump’s plan as a “major crisis” for the country.
“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 said then.
Is the Catholic Church rethinking U.S. engagement?
The Catholic Church’s global charitable organisation has labelled the Trump administration’s reductions in U.S. foreign aid programmes as “catastrophic” for their consequences on the developing world.
This month, the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference declared it would terminate a 50-year collaboration with the federal government to assist migrant and refugee communities, citing cuts from the Trump administration.
Chieko Noguchi, a representative of the U.S. bishops, informed Reuters that Cardinal Parolin from the Vatican is
“well-informed of the challenges faced by the Church and her institutions here”
in the U.S.
“We hope to see positive and engaging dialogue come from the meeting,”
She added.
