US Vice President J.D. Vance met today with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Foreign Minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher, with whom he had an "exchange of views" on current international conflicts and humanitarian crises involving migrants and refugees.
The Vatican said in a statement that Vance, a convert from Protestantism to Catholicism, had a private tour of the Sistine Chapel. There was no word on whether Vance was scheduled to meet with Pope Francis, who is recovering from pneumonia.
The Vatican statement also said the talks were cordial and that the Vatican expressed satisfaction with the US administration's commitment to protecting freedom of religion and conscience. Vance plans to attend Easter celebrations at the Vatican.
"Finally, hope was expressed for peaceful cooperation between the state and the Roman Catholic Church in the USA, whose precious service to the most vulnerable people is well known," the statement said.
The AP agency believes that the reference to "peaceful cooperation" refers to Vance's accusation that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has been resettling illegal immigrants in order to obtain federal funds. The top US cardinals have strongly denied these allegations.
The Holy See has responded cautiously to the Trump administration, in keeping with its tradition of diplomatic neutrality, but has expressed concern about the administration's anti-migrant policies and cuts to international aid, while insisting on peaceful solutions to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
US Vice President J.D. Vance is in Rome, where he met earlier with Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni. Meloni, who has positioned herself as a bridge between the US and Europe, received praise from US President Donald Trump for her crackdown on migration during a meeting in Washington on Thursday.
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