VATICAN CITY — Vice President JD Vance met briefly with Pope Francis on Sunday to alternate Easter greetings, after they bought right into a long-distance tangle over the Trump administration’s migrant deportation plans.
Vance’s motorcade entered Vatican Metropolis via a facet gate and parked close to Francis’ lodge residence whereas Easter Mass was being celebrated in St. Peter’s Sq.. Francis, who has vastly in the reduction of his workload to recuperate from a near-fatal case of pneumonia, delegated the celebration of the Mass to a different cardinal.
The Vatican stated they met for a couple of minutes on the Domus Santa Marta “to alternate Easter greetings.” Vance’s workplace stated that they met, however supplied no additional particulars. In all, Vance’s motorcade was on Vatican territory for 17 minutes.
Vance and the pope have tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration’s plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis has made caring for migrants a trademark of his papacy.
Simply days earlier than he was hospitalized in February, Francis blasted the Trump administration’s deportation plans, warning that they’d deprive migrants of their inherent dignity. In a letter to U.S. bishops, Francis additionally appeared to answer Vance instantly for having claimed that Catholic doctrine justified such insurance policies.
Vance has acknowledged Francis’ criticism however has stated he’ll proceed to defend his views. Throughout a Feb. 28 look on the Nationwide Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Vance didn’t deal with the difficulty particularly however referred to as himself a “child Catholic” and acknowledged there are “issues in regards to the religion that I don’t know.”
Vance, who transformed to Catholicism in 2019, met with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and overseas minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, on Saturday.
Vance’s workplace stated he and Parolin “mentioned their shared spiritual religion, Catholicism in america, the plight of persecuted Christian communities around the globe, and President Trump’s dedication to restoring world peace.”
The Vatican, for its half, stated there was an “alternate of opinions” together with over migrants and refugees and present conflicts.
The Holy See has responded cautiously to the Trump administration whereas looking for to proceed productive relations in step with its custom of diplomatic neutrality. It has expressed alarm over the administration’s crackdown on migrants and cuts in worldwide assist whereas insisting on peaceable resolutions to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
