Correction: Speculation by some of the media (and by me) notwithstanding, Pope XIV did eventually hold a private audience with VP JD Vance Monday morning: Pope Leo Meets With JD Vance as U.S. Conservatives Hope for Better Relations
Pope Leo XIV met with Vice President JD Vance for a closed-door meeting at the Vatican on Monday morning, the first private conversation between America’s two most high-profile Catholics since the new pontiff was elected.
They had “an exchange of views” said the Vatican:
After meeting with Pope Leo on Monday, Mr. Vance met with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister. Those discussions were “cordial” and reaffirmed “good bilateral relations,” according to a statement from the Vatican’s press office.
“There was an exchange of views on some current international issues, calling for respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved,” the statement said.
“Exchange of views” is sometimes diplospeak for “heavy disagreement” but it could mean it’s part of Leo’s hope to play an active role in diffusing some of the world’s problems.
The meeting also took place after Leo on Friday said the church could act as a mediator in global conflicts, including, his second-in-command said, between Ukraine and Russia.
So we may have misread Leo’s actions yesterday. I’m leaving the diary up to continue the discussion given this new development.
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After his inaugural mass today, Pope Leo XIV had a number of private meetings with the world leaders who had come attend his inauguration. In particular: Zelensky Meets With Pope Leo After Inaugural Mass. But there was one significant exception: J D Vance. Leo limited his interaction with the Catholic VP to a brief handshake in the receiving line — a line that was so long the pope spent over 75 minutes shaking everyone’s hand.
Raw Story is calling it a deliberate snub. Snubbed: Pope gives JD Vance just 17 seconds — but has long meetings with other leaders:
JD Vance’s efforts to schmooze were rebuffed by Pope Leo XIV Sunday — as the pontiff shook him off to meet with other world leaders.
The vice president was in the Vatican to witness the pope’s inaugural mass. Afterward, he tried to speak to the leader of the Catholic church, who shook his hand but barely spoke in the 17-second encounter.
But the pope did meet behind closed doors with many other world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Peruvian President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra.
In his homily, Leo didn’t mention Trump by name, but he took a definite swipe at Trump’s policies:
In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest. For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion, and fraternity within the world.
Leo added a nice ecumenical note:
This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of goodwill, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!
which probably didn’t sit too well with Vance either, given his far-right version of Catholicism and his earlier misguided attempt at reinterpreting the doctrine of ordo armoris — a stance rejected by, among others, Pope Francis at the time Vance made his argument, and by the new pope back when he was still a cardinal:
JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.
The Daily Beast read the interaction — or lack of it — the same way: Pope Leo Snubs JD Vance After Inaugural Mass:
Pope Leo XIV spurned JD Vance on Sunday, offering him a quick greeting after his inaugural mass while holding extensive private meetings with other world leaders. . .
The snub comes after the pope subtly criticized Vance and the Trump administration during his sermon, which has expelled and terrorized migrants and prompted seizing foreign land and resources, including Greenland.
I think I’m going to like this new pope!
