Armed conflict

Report: Pentagon Warned Vatican to Back US or Face Threats

Did the Pentagon threaten the Vatican with military intimidation or was it a routine diplomatic meeting blown out of proportion?

Published APR 10

Report: Pentagon Warned Vatican to Back US or Face Threats

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Above: Christophe Pierre at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., on April 21, 2025. Image credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The Spin

Establishment-critical narrative

The Pentagon summoned the Vatican's ambassador and invoked the Avignon Papacy — a direct historical reference to the use of military force to bend the pope to a government's will. Vatican officials were so alarmed that Pope Leo XIV scrapped plans to visit the U.S. entirely for the remainder of Trump's term. Threatening the first American pope with military intimidation is a disgrace that proves this administration puts brute force above faith, diplomacy and basic decency.

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Pro-establishment narrative

Cardinal Pierre himself called media reports about the Pentagon meeting "fabrications" that were "just invented" — and confirmed there were zero threats of any kind, including a mention of the Avignon Papacy. Both Pentagon and Vatican officials described the Jan. 22 meeting as frank, cordial and professional, covering morality in foreign policy, Latin America and more. Sensationalized reporting manufactured a scandal out of a routine diplomatic exchange to drive a wedge between the U.S. and the Holy See.

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