Religious freedom, migration on agenda as Vance meets Cardinal Parolin

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Against the backdrop of deep differences with the Trump administration over migration and foreign aid as well as concerns for Ukraine and for Gaza, the Vatican secretary of state welcomed U.S. Vice President JD Vance to the Vatican.

Vance met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and with Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister, April 19 in the Apostolic Palace.

A Vatican statement said areas of agreement, such as the defense of religious freedom, as well as the areas of tension with the Trump administration were discussed.

“There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees and prisoners,” the Vatican statement said.

While “other issues of mutual interest were also discussed,” the Vatican said that “hope was expressed for serene collaboration between the State and the Catholic Church in the United States, whose valuable service to the most vulnerable people was acknowledged.”

The vice president arrived at the Vatican with his wife, Usha, and three children: Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel. Cardinal Parolin greeted all of them before holding talks with Vance and his entourage.

Vance was in Rome for talks with the Italian government and, with his family, was visiting tourist sites in the city and participating in Holy Week and Easter services. The Vance family attended the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion in St. Peter’s Basilica April 18 and was expected to attend Easter morning Mass in St. Peter’s Square April 20.

A quick encounter with Pope Francis was possible Easter morning but was not scheduled officially as the pope continues to recover after a long hospitalization.

The pope, in a letter to U.S. bishops in early February, strongly supported their traditional assistance to migrants and refugees and criticized threats and policies of “mass deportations” announced by Trump and vigorously defended by Vance.

Pope Francis had described Trump’s immigration policy as a “major crisis.”

Every nation has the right to defend itself and keep its communities safe “from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival,” the pope had written. However, “the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.”

In a January interview, Vance, who joined the Catholic Church in 2019, questioned the motives of the U.S. bishops’ criticism of Trump’s immigration policies, suggesting their objection to the suspension of a federal refugee resettlement program had to do with “their bottom line.”

The pope and the U.S. bishops noted that helping the stranger is a Gospel tenet and, the bishops said, their work with refugees cost more than the government grants covered.

Pope Francis’ February letter also responded to an assertion Vance made in a Fox News interview about the Catholic concept of “ordo amoris” (the order of love or charity).

The concept, Vance said, teaches that “you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country. And then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.”

However, the pope said, “Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. In other words: the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings!”

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica April 18, Cardinal Parolin said the Vatican supported approaching global problems with “multilateralism and a policy based on cooperation among states, international law and diplomacy, rather than on opposition and the logic of power.”

Asked about the Trump administration’s growing frustration at not ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, a frustration that seems focused on Ukraine’s unwillingness to cede territory, Cardinal Parolin responded, “As Pope Francis has repeatedly reminded us, peace cannot be imposed, it is built patiently, day after day, through dialogue and mutual respect.”

At the same time, the cardinal said, “anything that promotes a just and lasting peace is to be considered helpful.”

Cardinal Parolin also was asked about Israel’s continuing bombardment of Gaza and Trump’s remarks that Palestinians whose homes have been destroyed in Gaza should be resettled elsewhere and the territory turned into a “Riviera.”

“For the Holy See,” the cardinal said, “the principles of the social doctrine of the church remain clear: Self-defense is lawful, but it can never imply the total or partial annihilation of another people or the denial of their right to live in their own land.”

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