The US Vice-President JD Vance may have publicly lied about getting invited to meet the Pope. Although a formal invitation would have been sent by the Vatican for the Sunday visit to take place, the invitation may have come after pressure from the US government to hold the meeting.
Prior to JD Vance’s arrival in Rome on Friday morning, on Thursday evening Pope Francis visited the Regina Coeli Prison a few paces away. He was transported on his wheelchair which has been using ever since spending up to six weeks in hospital due to a fatal bout of pneumonia. On Friday, the US Vice-President attended the solemn Good Friday service at Saint Peter’s Basilica but the Pope was not present for the ceremony.
On the following day, JD Vance and the Pope did not meet, however the Pope did actually engage in public activities on that day. At around 5.30pm Pope Francis took a stroll with his assistants in Saint Peter’s Basilica where he greeted visitors and children.
On the same day that the Pope greeted visitors at Saint Peter’s Basilicata, the Pope delegated his deputy, Cardinal Pietro Parolin to meet with JD Vance instead.
On Saturday evening, The Daily Beast released their article stating that the Pope had snubbed the Vice-President and refused to meet him. The Daily Beast even reported that the Cardinal had a discussion with the Vice-President on immigration.
On February 10th, the Pope released a very strongly-worded letter condemning the US government’s policy to criminalise illegal immigrants and compared their plight to the plight of the Israelis when they endured slavery and had to immigrate out of Egypt to find their freedom. The Pope also condemned Israel’s terrorism in Gaza and demanded an end to the war in Gaza. Pope Francis had diametrically opposed moral and religious positions to US government policy.
There are many questions that should be raised. Why did the Pope refuse to meet with the Vice-President on Saturday? It is highly unlikely that the Pope or his office scheduled a meeting with the Vice-President for Sunday just before the Easter Mass – a very unusual time to hold an official meeting.
As of Thursday, the Pope decided he was strong enough to leave the Vatican for a short visit. On Saturday, he even strolled around the Vatican and met visitors with his assistants. The Sunday celebrations would have been his most intense engagement for the week, leading us to doubt whether his assistants would have recommended the Pope to fit another event right before the Sunday celebrations started, especially when the Pope’s schedule on Saturday was freer.
Did the Pope refuse to meet with the US Vice-President? And if so, did the US government exert exceptional pressure on the Vatican to force an unusual meeting on Sunday?
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