The reference to “serene collaboration” appeared to refer to Vance’s assertion that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was resettling “illegal immigrants” to get federal funding. Top US cardinals have pushed back strongly against the claim.
“It is clear that the approach of the current US administration is very different from what we are used to and, especially in the West, from what we have relied on for many years,” Parolin told La Repubblica on the eve of Vance’s visit.
People look on as Vance’s motorcade passes after his meeting at the Vatican.Credit: Getty Images
As the US pushes to end the war in Ukraine, Parolin reaffirmed Kyiv’s right to its territorial integrity and insisted that any peace deal must not be “imposed” on Ukraine but “is built patiently, day by day, with dialogue and mutual respect”.
Vance was spending Easter weekend in Rome with his family and attended Good Friday services in St Peter’s Basilica after meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. On Saturday, after introducing his family to Parolin, the Vances got a private tour of the Sistine Chapel and later visited Rome’s botanic garden, where one of his sons was seen in a plastic gladiator costume that is popular among Italian kids.
It wasn’t immediately clear where they would celebrate Easter. Francis, for his part, indicated he hoped to attend Easter Mass that usually draws thousands to St Peter’s Square, according to the official Mass booklet and liturgical plans released on Saturday.
Papal rebuke on migration, appeal for prisoners
Francis and Vance have tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration’s plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis has made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy and his progressive views on social justice issues have often put him at odds with members of the more conservative US Catholic Church.
Vance and his family attend a Good Friday service led by Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti inside St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.Credit: AP
Francis also changed church teaching to say that capital punishment is inadmissible in all cases. After a public appeal from Francis just weeks before Trump took office, former US president Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row. Trump is an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment.
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, identifies with a small Catholic intellectual movement, viewed by some critics as having reactionary or authoritarian leanings, that is often called “postliberal”.
Postliberals share some longstanding Catholic conservative views, such as opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. They envision a counterrevolution in which they take over government bureaucracy and institutions such as universities from within, replacing entrenched “elites” with their own and acting upon their vision of the “common good”.
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Just days before he was hospitalised in February, Francis blasted the Trump administration’s deportation plans, warning that they would deprive migrants of their inherent dignity. In a letter to US bishops, Francis also appeared to respond to Vance directly for having claimed that Catholic doctrine justified such policies.
A Latin concept of love
Vance had defended the administration’s America-first crackdown by citing a concept from medieval Catholic theology known in Latin as “ordo amoris”. He has said the concept delineated a hierarchy of care – to family first, followed by neighbour, community, fellow citizens and lastly those elsewhere.
In his February 10 letter, Francis appeared to correct Vance’s understanding of the concept.
“Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extends to other persons and groups,” he wrote. “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’, that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”
Vance has acknowledged Francis’ criticism but has said he would continue to defend his views. During a February 28 appearance at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Vance didn’t address the issue specifically but called himself a “baby Catholic” and acknowledged there are “things about the faith that I don’t know”.
While he had criticised Francis on social media in the past, Vance recently has posted prayers for Francis’ recovery.