US-Vatican tensions deepen over reported Pentagon pressure on Catholic Church

Ties between the US and the Catholic Church have been tense since January, following a confrontational message delivered by senior US defense officials to a Vatican official.

According to a report by The Free Press, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s US representative, to a closed-door meeting shortly after Pope Leo XIV’s State of the World address, where concerns were raised over the pope’s criticism of US military policy.

The report added that Colby stressed Washington’s global military reach and urged the Catholic Church to align more closely with US strategic positions.

It also claimed that references were made during the meeting to the 14th-century Avignon papacy, when the French monarchy exerted influence over the Church.

The Trump administration took issue with the pope’s criticism of its militaristic stance, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior Pentagon officials particularly angered by remarks in Leo’s Jan. 9 address, suggesting diplomacy was being replaced by force and that enthusiasm for war was growing.

The report also described the Pentagon meeting as an unprecedented show of pressure on the Catholic Church, with no known prior instance of such direct warnings.

Tensions persisted into February, when the Holy See declined a White House invitation and instead scheduled a visit to Lampedusa, southern Italy, on July 4, a move seen as symbolic.

US officials, however, rejected the account, saying the meeting was “respectful and reasonable” and disputing claims that it involved threats or intimidation.

On Wednesday, US Vice President JD Vance said he would review the reports concerning the alleged confrontation.

Speaking in Hungary, Vance was asked about reports by The Free Press alleging that Cardinal Christophe Pierre was told in January that the Vatican and the Catholic Church should align with the Trump administration’s military policies.

“I would actually like to talk to Cardinal Christophe Pierre and, frankly, to our people, to figure out what actually happened,” Vance said during a visit to Hungary, adding: "I think it's always a bad idea to offer an opinion on stories that are unconfirmed and uncorroborated, so I'm not going to do that."

A Defense Department spokesperson also dismissed the allegations as “highly exaggerated and distorted,” reiterating Washington’s commitment to maintaining dialogue with the Holy See, according to Newsweek.