U.S. Military Confronts Pope Over Critique of American Warfare
Since January, ties between the U.S. defense establishment and the Vatican have frayed. After Pope Leo XIV condemned “a diplomacy based on force,” top Pentagon officials summoned the Vatican’s U.S. envoy for a tense meeting. During the session, an official evoked the 14th-century Avignon papacy, likening it to a threat of military coercion against the Holy See. That rare show of pressure alarmed Vatican insiders and prompted the pope to cancel his planned U.S. visit. Diplomatic relations worsened further when the Vatican declined an invitation for Pope Leo to join America’s 250th anniversary celebrations. Instead, the pontiff will mark July 4 on Lampedusa, highlighting his focus on migration rather than state ceremonies. (Source: analysis of reports by a Vatican affairs commentator)
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