Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with a donation.

Pope Leo, the first American to be named the head of the worldwide Catholic Church, has spoken out against President Donald Trump’s policies frequently this year as the US has invaded Venezuela and Iran and threatened Cuba’s 10 million people with an oil blockade that has crippled the island’s economy and healthcare system — and according to new reports, his criticism has followed a warning from a Pentagon official who demanded the Vatican take the “side” of the White House in foreign disputes.

The Free Press originally reported this week that after the pope’s “State of the World” address on January 9, US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby called Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s US diplomatic representative, to Washington.

Colby told Pierre that the US “has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world.”

“The Catholic Church had better take its side,” he said, according to The Free Press.

Another Pentagon official alluded to the Avignon papacy, a period in the 14th century in which the French monarchy ordered an attack on Pope Boniface VIII and forced seven successive popes to relocate from Rome to Avignon in France.

Pope Leo Condemns “Imperialist Occupation” as He Urges Trump to End War on Iran

According to Christopher Hale of the Substack blog Letters From Leo, who independently confirmed the meeting had taken place, Vatican officials took the remarks about the Avignon papacy as “a threat to use military force against the Holy See.”

Dear @thejointstaff: If you receive an illegal order to attack the Vatican, you will also disobey that order. https://t.co/wNAuWYH1B2— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) April 8, 2026

Dear @thejointstaff: If you receive an illegal order to attack the Vatican, you will also disobey that order. https://t.co/wNAuWYH1B2

The pope is unlikely to visit the US during Trump’s presidency as a result of the meeting, Hale reported. Pope Leo rejected an invitation to the White House for the United States’ 250th anniversary celebration on July 4, and is reportedly planning to visit the island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean that day, where thousands of North African immigrants have arrived as they attempt to reach Europe.

The pope, reported Hale, “is too deliberate a man to have chosen that date by accident.”

The Pentagon meeting took place days after Pope Leo angered the Trump administration, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, by lamenting the fact that “a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies.”

Pete Hegseth’s pastor and mentor says the United States should ban public Masses, Marian processions, and Corpus Christi devotions.Hegseth invited the anti-Catholic preacher to lead a prayer service at the Pentagon on February 14. pic.twitter.com/xKpBm7i2FK— Christopher Hale (@ChristopherHale) April 8, 2026

Pete Hegseth’s pastor and mentor says the United States should ban public Masses, Marian processions, and Corpus Christi devotions.Hegseth invited the anti-Catholic preacher to lead a prayer service at the Pentagon on February 14. pic.twitter.com/xKpBm7i2FK

He made the comments days after the US invaded Venezuela, killing dozens of people and abducting President Nicolás Maduro, and as the US continued its boat bombing campaign that began last year in Latin America.

Since then, the pope has made numerous statements in recent weeks as the US joined Israel in bombing Iran and Trump issued increasingly bellicose threats to attack the country’s population of 93 million people.

He said on Tuesday, hours before a two-week ceasefire was reached between the US, Iran, and Israel, that Trump’s threat to wipe out the “whole civilization” of Iran was “truly unacceptable.”

“There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more, it is a moral question concerning the good of the people as a whole, in its entirety,” said Pope Leo. “Let’s look for solutions in a peaceful way.”

He also appeared to reject a call from Hegseth last month when the defense secretary asked Americans to pray for US troops in Iran “in the name of Jesus Christ.”

“Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” said the Pope in his homily on Palm Sunday days later. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.’”

The New Republic reported that prior to the January meeting Pierre was called to, there were no public records of meetings between the Vatican and Pentagon officials, “let alone an instance in which the world power suggested that it could force the Bishop of Rome into captivity.”

When asked about the meeting on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance — a Catholic convert — at first claimed not to know who the Vatican’s US representative was, before saying the reported was “uncorroborated.”

BREAKING: JD Vance initially says he doesn't know who Cardinal Christophe Pierre is — until recently Pope Leo XIV’s ambassador to the United States — then, once reminded, declines to comment on the Pentagon's January meeting with the cardinal or on the ”bitter lecture” Under… pic.twitter.com/Qknnuh0wxv— Christopher Hale (@ChristopherHale) April 8, 2026

BREAKING: JD Vance initially says he doesn't know who Cardinal Christophe Pierre is — until recently Pope Leo XIV’s ambassador to the United States — then, once reminded, declines to comment on the Pentagon's January meeting with the cardinal or on the ”bitter lecture” Under… pic.twitter.com/Qknnuh0wxv

The Defense Department also denied The Free Press’ account of the meeting, saying the characterization was “highly exaggerated and distorted.”

Writer Pedro Gonzalez noted that former Trump adviser Steve Bannon discussed strategies to “take down” the late Pope Frances with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to files on Epstein that were released by the Department of Justice.

“It is for this and other reasons that people take seriously the report about the Trump-Vance administration threatening Pope Leo to bend the knee or else,” said Gonzalez. “These people are insane. Their hunger for power is bottomless. Moral resistance will be met with intimidation and threats, whether it’s in America or in Rome.”

Holding Trump accountable for his illegal war on Iran

The devastating American and Israeli attacks have killed hundreds of Iranians, and the death toll continues to rise.

As independent media, what we do next matters a lot. It’s up to us to report the truth, demand accountability, and reckon with the consequences of U.S. militarism at this cataclysmic historical moment.

Trump may be an authoritarian, but he is not entirely invulnerable, nor are the elected officials who have given him pass after pass. We cannot let him believe for a second longer that he can get away with something this wildly illegal or recklessly dangerous without accountability.

We ask for your support as we carry out our media resistance to unchecked militarism. Please make a tax-deductible one-time or monthly donation to Truthout.

Share via Facebook Facebook Circle Icon

Share via Bluesky Bluesky Circle Icon.cls-1{stroke-width:0px;}

Share via Flipboard Flipboard Circle Icon

Share via Mail Mail Circle Icon

More .st0{fill:none;stroke:#000000;stroke-width:0.5;stroke-linecap:round;stroke-linejoin:round;} Share via Threads .cls-1{stroke-width:0px;} Share via Reddit Reddit Cirlce Icon Share via Pocket Pocket Circle Icon Share via Linkedin LinkedIn Circle Icon.cls-1{stroke:#000;stroke-miterlimit:10;} Share via Twitter Twitter Circle Icon

Share via Threads .cls-1{stroke-width:0px;}

Share via Reddit Reddit Cirlce Icon

Share via Pocket Pocket Circle Icon

Share via Linkedin LinkedIn Circle Icon.cls-1{stroke:#000;stroke-miterlimit:10;}

Share via Twitter Twitter Circle Icon

Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

© Truthout