₦airaland Forum

Relations between the U.S. and the Catholic Church have not been the same since January, when senior U.S. defense officials shared an abrasive message with a Vatican official.

Days after Pope Leo XIV delivered his State of the World speech, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s U.S. representative, to a closed-door Pentagon meeting for a bitter lecture.

One U.S. official present at the meeting brought up the Avignon papacy, a period in the 14th century in which the French monarchy bent the Catholic Church into submission, ordering an attack on Pope Boniface VIII that led to his downfall and subsequent death and forcing the papacy to relocate from Rome to Avignon, a region inside France.

The Trump administration had taken issue with the pope’s critique of its militaristic proclivities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top Pentagon officials were particularly aggrieved by portions of Leo’s January 9 speech in which the pope argued that “a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force,” and that “war is back in vogue, and a zeal for war is spreading.”

The pope’s address was dissected line by line and interpreted as a hostile message toward the administration, reported Letters from Leo Substack writer Christopher Hale.

It was difficult not to interpret Leo’s comments as an immediate commentary on Donald Trump’s second administration, which had at that point bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities, kidnapped Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, fiercely advocated for the dissolution of NATO, and threatened America’s allies, including claiming that the U.S. would seize control of Canada and Greenland.

But the blatant intimidation tactic is the first of its kind ever made by American officials to the Catholic Church. There are no public records of any previous meetings between Vatican and U.S. officials at the Pentagon, let alone an instance in which the world power suggested that it could force the Bishop of Rome into captivity.

The Vatican was so alarmed by the Pentagon’s warning that Pope Leo cancelled his plans to visit the U.S. later in the year, reported Hale, who noted that “many in the Vatican saw the Pentagon’s reference to an Avignon papacy as a threat to use military force against the Holy See.”

Tensions had not been mended by February, when the Holy See rejected the White House’s invitation to host Pope Leo—the religious order’s first U.S.-born pontiff—for America’s 250th anniversary in July. Instead, the Catholic leader has arranged to visit a very different locale on July 4: Lampedusa, a tiny island between Tunisia and Sicily where North African immigrants wash ashore by the thousands.

“Robert Francis Prevost is too deliberate a man to have chosen that date by accident,” commented Hale.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pentagon-threatened-pope-criticized-trump-212552754.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKbj4Q7oZSVhaRC2uKa2WWOnDgclmR9tDpVKaOfpO_S9FSrtHbD81kYYahivGYA0QpUsGB-ZAd9Wz_gvGgwM5PaD8zwiZ9ukYCPlD4FYARx66HMX0Negg-kR-oFadbyb1B8PGGilJm0CXbWIYi0ck_CxFY0WxnXVF8xWSPcL8t6Q

It has reached the point where the US military is threatening the pope? Because the Pope spoke the truth? This is nothing short of evil.

Dogalmighty17:
It has reached the point where the US military is threatening the pope? Because the Pope spoke the truth? This is nothing short of evil.

The world won't look the other way because of some archaic theology beliefs.

Thunder fire united states

A pope is a pope. A German pope would have opposed Hitler. Nothing wrong with an American pope opposing a genocide.

bunches of puppet ND mudpuppies playing their games..

I still can't forget what the Catholic church did during world war 2.

Those guys actually recognized the Nazist

Even praised Hitler and his fellow SS and SA agents .
In order to make the Catholic church the only religion in Germany and Germany occupied territory....

But when Germany lost the war, they shifted side sharp sharp .

So when it comes to religion during war, na just game of interest

Don't argue baselessly, Google is your friend

To me, this are baseless propaganda


See all of una, way they yarn nonsense and quoting me, what role did the Catholic church play during the German conquest during the world war 2?

They praised the Nazist for doing God's work

Gotocourt:
The world won't look the other way because of some archaic theology beliefs.

You're right.

White Christian Nationalist is the future.

Knights Templar makes more sense.

When you think you have seen it all, it keeps getting worse!

Trump was destined to ruin the US

I trust Nigerian IDF’s, they will still tell you the Pope is irrelevant and shouldn’t be speaking out against war and genocides.

Vatican has lost it glory.

Now supporting nonsense and embracing Islam

Mr. Tariff is going in insane. The pope was right, diplomacy based on dialogue remains the solution to the world's problems not force.

US is just going against everyone and everything. Trump wants to start collecting tolls from the Strait of Hormuz, tell me what business he has there

See Finish wey go harvard

Dogalmighty17:
It has reached the point where the US military is threatening the pope? Because the Pope spoke the truth? This is nothing short of evil.

And some foolish Christians will still support Trump.

He can never eliminate the Pope same way Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was eliminated except the United States is looking for world war III. I think Trump will soon get what he is looking for. There is a limit to his excesses. We have tolerated him enough.

The Pope doesn't take counsel from the US president, so Trump and his people should calm down. He is the Holy Father of millions of faithfuls, so he has the right to say whatever he deemed fit as the truth.

The POPE is already used to old days where Christians suffer persecution and keep quiet without fighting back.


Modern Christianity won't tolerate the nonsense that what America stands for.


Condemning US is not fair, what will he say to those saying Death to America?

At times, it's better to speak fair language than blame...

You are condemning US, how many Muslim Imam has ever condemn Iran sponsoring terrorism globally?

It is very difficult to win US in a propaganda war because US controls over 12000 media outlets worldwide.

The USA is a terrorist state!

adamkkk:
Vatican has lost it glory.

Now supporting nonsense and embracing Islam

You lost your senses cos of religion fanatism
It's a pity

You can't threaten the POPE. Doing so, you are threatening billions of CATHOLICS my friends

Nairaland Churchgoers are solidly behind Trump

Trump na everybody you dey fight ni, abi wetin dey do you self cool down na

HacheNoire:
When you think you have seen it all, it keeps getting worse!

Trump was destined to ruin the US

I trust Nigerian IDF’s, they will still tell you the Pope is irrelevant and shouldn’t be speaking out against war and genocides.

what is the usefulness of popes?

Indeed America and Israel are fighting anti Christ.. pope who have never lend his voice towards what if happening in Nigeria all of a sudden weakened up to condem America and Israel military campaign against Islamic republic who has committed so many atrocious act against their people and others.

Trump na everybody you dey fight ni, abi wetin dey do you self, cool down na

I wonder what deir satanic followers will talk about this. Mak them called Pope terrorist too since his telling the truth...

This Trump administration would have shot Jesus at a peaceful ICE protest, bury the evidence and call it "Protecting democracy".

donleo92:
I still can't forget what the Catholic church did during world war 2.

Those guys actually recognized the Nazist

Even praised Hitler and his fellow SS and SA agents .
In order to make the Catholic church the only religion in Germany and Germany occupied territory....

But when Germany lost the war, they shifted side sharp sharp .

So when it comes to religion during war, na just game of interest

Don't argue baselessly, Google is your friend

To me, this are baseless propaganda

Hope you won't also forget what America did to our fore fathers through slavery and their brutal elimination of the red Indian owners of America. They also supported apartheid, another form of slavery all over the world.

Also don't forget how America who is stopping others from having Nuclear war heads actually became the first and the only country to use atomic bomb in the whole world. They killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people and maimed millions in Japan during the second world war.

Two examples of most grievious treatment on humans by any country in the world.

Pls don't forget.

Jughead29:
The POPE is already used to old days where Christians suffer persecution and keep quiet without fighting back.


Modern Christianity won't tolerate the nonsense that what America stands for.


Condemning US is not fair, what will he say to those saying Death to America?

At times, it's better to speak fair language than blame...

You are condemning US, how many Muslim Imam has ever condemn Iran sponsoring terrorism globally?

I don't really understand you in this context? Is Iran persecuting the Christians or it is fighting against the Jews whose religion is Judaism? Israel even have 3x more Muslims than Christians, so where did you get your narrative from?

This time around Trump madness will be met with total and obliterated response! He dares not fight with the Pope and he can't. He can only grumble and swallow because the Pope is not like his regular toothless lapdogs from Europe that when he gives them a slap instead of a pat they still blow his trumpet the Pope is a divine man with a divine and physical backed authorative power... Abeg make the next news hit the spot.

kingthreat:
A pope is a pope. would have opposed Hitler.Nothing wrong with an American pope opposing a genocide.

Say what you know.

The Catholic Church has been in the forefront of whatever world war that has been fought throughout the history of mankind.

geoworldedu:
I don't really understand you in this context? Is Iran persecuting the Christians or it is fighting against the Jews whose religion is Judaism? Israel even have 3x more Muslims than Christians, so where did you get your narrative from?

they are confused oo fanatism don eat their remaining brain cells

The Pope and Trump understand clearly that if the world should behave Christlike like in Luke 6:29 (wherein if I slap you turn the other side) the whole world will be messed up by Allahu Akbar children's.