After tensions with pope, Vance, a Catholic convert, to visit Vatican

Boston Globe

17-04-2025

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The vice president arrives at a time when senior Vatican officials are alarmed by the administration's 'America First' nationalism, its campaign against migrants — a leading cause of Francis's — and its cuts in foreign aid that Catholic charities have called a 'catastrophic' blow to their ability to assist millions across the globe. But the trip also comes amid deep divisions in the American Catholic Church, with the pope and the administration appearing to be on opposite sides.
Nowhere was that more evident than at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., on March 19, when Bishop Joseph E. Strickland — a vocal Francis critic who was removed from his post by the Vatican — was invited to lead an event sponsored by the pro-Trump group Catholics for Catholics. Trump, Strickland, and Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, all appear on the homepage of the group's website, while Francis does not.
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In a message distributed to dozens of conservative Catholic priests in attendance, the Texas bishop again called out the pope, this time for allegedly refusing to 'reject the siren call of sodomy,' an apparent reference to Francis's LGBTQ+ outreach.
'There's no doubt that some of these critics mean to diminish the authority of the pope, to water down his teachings and claim that they have on their side a pure, correct, rigorous Christianity,' one senior Vatican official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said of the conservative Catholics in the administration's orbit.
The official added, however, that it was in the Vatican's interest to hold pragmatic talks with Vance. 'Of course that's all there,' he said of the tensions. 'But I'd say that won't really affect the climate. I think content will be key, more than the company one keeps.'
Vatican insiders say the Holy See will seek to engage Vance cordially, both as a relatively new Catholic — he converted in 2019 — and a representative of an American administration with which the Vatican seeks to engage on key diplomatic points. The Holy See, like the White House, is advocating for a cease-fire in Ukraine. Francis also sees an end to the war in the Gaza Strip as urgent. The Vatican is expected to raise both topics with Vance.
'The truth is that Pope Francis will welcome this visit,' said Victor Gaetan, author of 'God's Diplomats: Pope Francis, Vatican Diplomacy, and America's Armageddon.' 'One of the reasons is because Vance is a recent convert. But there are also points of convergence' between the Vatican and the Trump administration.
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The timing is admittedly complicated. Francis is convalescing after a bout with pneumonia that nearly cost him his life. Vance is arriving during the Vatican's busiest and holiest of days, the lead-up to Easter Sunday. But observers say they will be surprised if some sort of meeting is not arranged, and it is not unusual for papal audiences to be announced after the fact. One possibility, Vatican watchers say, is some sort of encounter or blessing before, during, or after Easter Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday.
Should no meeting materialize, it will be hard to blame the pope's health. He met briefly last week with Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla, and on Thursday, visited a prison. Despite doctors' orders to rest, Francis has also made several public appearances in recent weeks.
'Since the end of the medical emergency, the pope has been meeting many people — those he wants to meet, he'll meet. If he does not receive [Vance], that will be a choice,' said Massimo Faggioli, a Catholic theologian at Villanova University.
On the eve of Trump's inauguration in January, Francis called the president's plan for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants a 'disgrace,' in an echo of the antipathy that defined the pontiff's ties with the first Trump administration. That month, Francis elevated a liberal lion, Cardinal Robert McElroy, to head the Archdiocese of Washington. McElroy has fiercely called out the administration's migrant crackdown, describing it as a 'war of fear and terror.'
And this week, concerned by Trump's moves to slash government and cut taxes, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a policy statement saying 'tax cuts that largely favor wealthier persons should not be made possible through cuts to healthcare and food for families struggling to make ends meet.'
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Vance being able to schedule a visit to the Vatican over Holy Week may have been an opportunity too good to pass up. The primary focus of his diplomatic agenda over the next week, according to those familiar with his travel, is a visit to India, a key ally as the United States seeks to restructure global trade and lead a coalition against China. India is also the country of origin of his wife's parents and a place Vance has never visited.
But the vice president stopping in Italy on the way, and the visit coinciding with Easter, is effectively a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Catholic convert. He will visit with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Friday, just a day after she meets with Vance and Trump at the White House, as the president engages with various world leaders on trade and his administration's global tariffs.
Vance's Italy visit, as a result, is less about pursuing urgent diplomatic priorities and is instead a way to highlight the vice president's faith — despite his bouts of friction with top church leaders.
Calling it 'pretty significant' that Vance will be in Rome over Easter, a senior White House official said his presence there will complement the Trump team's other plans throughout Holy Week, which include holding two Christian prayer and worship events at the White House.
Catholic leaders anticipating the meeting say they do not expect the vice president to engage in confrontation or criticism when he meets with Vatican officials.
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The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor at large of America magazine, noted 'a tension between one's political views and one's religious views' for many in elected office, 'and that seems to be the case' with Vance. Martin, a leading advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church, has also publicly criticized Vance and Trump's deportation initiatives.
'I would hope that Vice President Vance is open to hearing the fullness of Catholic teaching on refugees and migrants, the poor and those in need,' Martin said of the upcoming Vatican meeting.