VATICAN CITY (AP) 鈥 U.S. Vice President JD Vance met briefly with Pope Francis on Sunday to exchange Easter greetings, after they got into a long-distance tangle over the Trump administration's migrant deportation plans.
Vance鈥檚 motorcade entered Vatican City through a side gate and parked near Francis鈥 hotel residence while Easter Mass was being celebrated in St. Peter鈥檚 Square. Francis, who has greatly cut back his workload to recover from a near-fatal case of pneumonia, of the Mass to another cardinal.
The Vatican said they met for a few minutes at the Domus Santa Marta 鈥渢o exchange Easter greetings.鈥 Vance's office said that they met, but provided no further details. In all, Vance's motorcade was on Vatican territory for 17 minutes.
Vance and the pope have and the Trump administration鈥檚 plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis has made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy.
Just days before he was hospitalized in February, Francis blasted the Trump administration鈥檚 deportation plans, warning that they would deprive migrants of their inherent dignity. In a letter to U.S. bishops, Francis also appeared to respond to Vance directly for having such policies.
Vance has but has said he will continue to defend his views. During a Feb. 28 appearance at the 好色tv Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Vance didn鈥檛 address the issue specifically but called himself a 鈥渂aby Catholic鈥 and acknowledged there are 鈥渢hings about the faith that I don鈥檛 know.鈥
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, met with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, on Saturday.
Vance鈥檚 office said he and Parolin 鈥渄iscussed their shared religious faith, Catholicism in the United States, the plight of persecuted Christian communities around the world, and President Trump鈥檚 commitment to restoring world peace.鈥
The Vatican, for its part, said there was an 鈥渆xchange of opinions鈥 including over migrants and refugees and current conflicts.
The Holy See has responded cautiously to the Trump administration while seeking to continue productive relations in keeping with its tradition of diplomatic neutrality. It has expressed alarm over the administration鈥檚 crackdown on migrants and while insisting on peaceful resolutions to the wars in and
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
