Yves right here. Wowsers, John Helmer supplies a deep dive on the Trump Administration’s muscling of the Catholic Church and the Holy See’s pushback.
By John Helmer, the longest constantly serving overseas correspondent in Russia, and the one western journalist to direct his personal bureau unbiased of single nationwide or industrial ties. Helmer has additionally been a professor of political science, and an advisor to authorities heads in Greece, america, and Asia. He’s the primary and solely member of a US presidential administration (Jimmy Carter) to ascertain himself in Russia. Initially printed at Dances with Bears
On the subject of the function God performs in Vatican politics, contained in the Holy See and out of doors within the warmaking capital of the US, there can by no means be an excessive amount of ado about nothing.
You don’t must be a believer to know that in warfare and politics, God is Not Nothing.
President Donald Trump made it clear that he and God have been face to face and holding fingers in the course of the Isfahan operation on the weekend, April 4-5. He — Trump, that’s — has additionally been ensuring that his most senior Roman Catholic officers (lead picture, proper), Vice President JD Vance (convert) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (beginning) – each of them candidates within the operating to succeed Trump – hold American Catholic voters loyal to his presidency as they have been within the 2024 election.
And so it got here to cross that on January 22, a Catholic second-stringer within the Administration, Elbridge Colby, Underneath Secretary of Struggle for Coverage, referred to as the Papal Nuncio in Washington, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, for a reproving lecture on papal politics. This adopted the refusal of the brand new Pope Leo XIV to comply with Vance’s invitation to go to the US this 12 months; and one week earlier than Pierre turned 80 years previous and signed his resignation to Rome. After a decade in Washington, the cardinal determined to not exit with a whimper, however with a bang.
The general public report of what Colby had advised him was leaked within the first week of April, reported right here in a publication directed by a Jewish convert, virtually three months after the Pentagon assembly. “The Vatican and the White Home Are on the Outs” was the headline. The recognized supply was “Vatican officers briefed on the assembly, who spoke with The Free Press on the situation of anonymity”. They mentioned that Colby gave Pierre “a bitter lecture warning that america has the army energy to do no matter it desires—and that the Church had higher take its facet.”
The timing of this leak adopted after Trump launched his declared genocidal warfare in opposition to Iran; and after the Netanyahu regime closed the Holy Locations in Jerusalem in the course of the Easter celebrations.
Leo XIV then introduced in his Easter Mass homily on April 5: “loss of life is all the time lurking. We see it current in injustices, in partisan selfishness, within the oppression of the poor, within the lack of consideration given to essentially the most susceptible. We see it in violence, within the wounds of the world, within the cry of ache that rises from each nook due to the abuses that crush the weakest amongst us, due to the idolatry of revenue that plunders the earth’s sources, due to the violence of warfare that kills and destroys.”
The Pope added: “Let those that have weapons lay them down! Let those that have the ability to unleash wars select peace! On today of celebration, allow us to abandon each need for battle, domination, and energy, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars.”
On the following day, April 6, in his Washington press convention, Trump replied with seventeen (17) mentions of God.
“God was watching us,” Trump mentioned of the Isfahan operation. “Nicely, it was the Easter — we have been in Easter territory, I assume, however God was watching us…God is sweet each day. And to our adversaries watching from Tehran, let this be a transparent message to america army will go anyplace at any time to guard our personal and full the mission. We execute with precision.” Requested by a reporter to make clear if “God helps america actions on this warfare?”, Trump replied: “I do. As a result of God is sweet. As a result of God is sweet, and God desires to see folks taken care of god doesn’t like what’s taking place. I don’t like what’s taking place everybody says I get pleasure from it. I don’t get pleasure from this I don’t get pleasure from it. These two guys don’t get pleasure from it. , folks say, oh boy, they’re so robust. They don’t need — they don’t like — I don’t like seeing folks killed.”
The Pope’s overseas minister, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, then reacted with an announcement on April 9. “We can not give up to the logic of the strongest as a result of that bends worldwide regulation to its personal pursuits. We can not transfer from the drive of regulation to the regulation of drive.” Parolin took photographs at President Vladimir Putin, Trump and the Israelis. “Many governments have expressed indignation over assaults in opposition to Ukrainian civilians by Russian missiles and drones, imposing sanctions on the aggressors. I don’t assume the identical has occurred with the tragedy of the destruction of Gaza.”
The Roman Curia has been underneath stress from the American bishops to take a transparent stance in opposition to Trump’s warfare and in opposition to his threats of genocide in opposition to Iran.
Archbishop Paul Coakley, talking for the US Convention of Catholic Bishops, adopted the Pope’s Easter speech with certainly one of his personal, explicitly in opposition to Trump: “The specter of destroying a complete civilization and the intentional focusing on of civilian infrastructure can’t be morally justified. There are different methods to resolve battle between peoples. I name on President Trump to step again from the precipice of warfare and negotiate a simply settlement for the sake of peace and earlier than extra lives are misplaced.” Within the marketing campaign to maintain God on the facet of Catholic voters for Trump — begun at Colby’s assembly with the Papal Nuncio in January and ending with the Pope ordering the US bishops to vote their consciences in opposition to Trump — the Christian faction within the White Home has been overwhelmed as badly because the Jewish faction was overwhelmed by Iran on the battlefield of the Persian Gulf.
As soon as upon a time, there have been well-informed reporters on Vatican politics in Paris, Dublin and Rome. Their reviews of precisely what has simply transpired are lacking now as a result of they – notably, dearest pal of mine Nicolas Boult – are lifeless.
For particulars of Colby’s lecture on January 22 to Cardinal Pierre, learn extra right here.
Main as much as their assembly, the cardinal, the Pope, and his American bishops had been discussing in secret how to answer the White Home stress for Leo XIV to make a ceremonial go to to Trump forward of Election Day on November 3. Trump had needed God’s mandate; the Church mentioned no.
Learn extra of the background – with out the politics – right here
Cardinal Pierre assembly Underneath Secretary Colby on the Pentagon on January 22. Supply: https://x.com/DOWResponse/standing/2042300020494418303
Colby tried to silence the leaking breach with the Pope. “Underneath Secretary of Struggle for Coverage Elbridge Colby,” he tweeted, “had a substantive, respectful, {and professional} assembly with Cardinal Pierre, the then-Papal Nuncio, and his crew on January 22, 2026. Throughout the cordial assembly, they mentioned a spread of matters, together with problems with morality in overseas coverage, the logic of the U.S. Nationwide Safety Technique, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and different matters. Cardinal Pierre expressed his appreciation for the outreach and either side regarded ahead to continued open and respectful dialogue. In gentle of grossly false and distorted latest reporting, the Division of Struggle repeats its assertion: Current reporting of the assembly is very exaggerated and distorted. The assembly between Pentagon and Vatican officers was a respectful and affordable dialogue. We now have nothing however the highest regard and welcome continued dialogue with the Holy See.”
The reported reference at Colby’s assembly to the French switch of the popes from Rome to Avignon in the course of the 14th century was particularly galling to the Nuncio Pierre, and embarrassing for Trump’s appointee to the Holy See, Brian Burch. Burch had been in control of mobilizing Catholic votes in the course of the election marketing campaign of 2024.
Burch has tweeted that yesterday (April 9) he had been “talking” with Pierre in Rome. Talking seems to discuss with a phone dialog, not a face-to-face assembly. “I used to be happy to talk as we speak with His Eminence, Cardinal Christophe Pierre. As anticipated, he confirmed that latest media characterizations of his assembly with Undersecretary Colby are ‘fabrications’ that have been ‘simply invented.’ Given the intelligence and seriousness of Mr. Colby, I used to be likewise not suprised when His Eminence acknowledged there have been no threats of any form within the assembly. ‘It was a frank and cordial assembly that passed off two months in the past.’ Menace of Avignon? ‘None.’”
Within the non secular doctrine which all three of them have been educated to comply with, mendacity is a venial sin, not normally a mortal one.
The Catholic Vice President was cautious in what he has mentioned. “[Vance] advised media he would ‘like to speak to Cardinal Christophe Pierre and, frankly, to our folks [Colby], to determine what really occurred. I feel itʼs all the time a foul concept to supply an opinion on tales which might be unconfirmed and uncorroborated, so Iʼm not going to do this.”
Pierre had retired after his 80th birthday on January 30, 2026; he formally resigned his Washington publish on March 7. When Burch offered himself this week, Pierre was out of workplace. It’s not recognized if his successor, appointed by Leo to comply with Pierre to Washington, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, was current on the phone line or on the assembly desk. Caccia, an Italian, has been serving because the Holy See’s Everlasting Observer on the United Nations. In an earlier posting between 2007-2017, Caccia was the nuncio in Lebanon underneath Israeli hearth. There isn’t a document of his public statements in help of the Vatican doctrine on the time of “ethical proportionality” between Israel’s assaults and Hezbollah’s defence; he averted criticism of Israel.
Archbishop Caccia meets Brian Burch, April 8, 2026: https://www.fb.com/holysee.usembassy/posts/ambassador-burch-welcomed-archbishop-caccia-the-new-nuncio-to-the-united-states-/1357052016454983/
The Catholic press in Paris and Dublin are treating the Colby-Pierre story as a parochial American Church affair and ignoring it. La Croix is ready on as we speak’s (April 10) assembly between President Emmanuel Macron and the Pope. Within the meantime, the French newspaper is reporting Leo’s April 7 assertion condemning Trump’s threats as “really unacceptable for all of the folks of Iran.” The Catholic tribune editorialised: “For this pope disinclined to make his criticism private, this transfer is critical. It marks a brand new hardening of the pope’s tone, after his first shift on March 31.”
In Rome, Mattia Ferraresi, the reporter who broke the Colby risk story within the US, adopted up yesterday (April 9) with a report that his Vatican sources have met with the Pope and briefed him on what has adopted the preliminary disclosures.
The newest US opinion polling exhibits the political urgency for Trump, Vance, Rubio, Colby and different officers, the Christians and the Jews, if the bulk help which Catholic voters gave Trump within the 2024 election is misplaced now. Within the presidential vote, in response to the Pew Analysis Centre research launched final 12 months, the Catholic vote for Trump was 55% — white Catholics 62%, Hispanic Catholics 41% — in comparison with 43% for Kamala Harris. For the Democrats, there was a swing of 12 proportion factors within the Catholic vote in opposition to the social gathering’s candidate from the lead to 2020. In comparison with 2020, Trump gained a 5 proportion level swing from white Catholics, 10 proportion factors from Hispanic Catholics.
Supply: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/06/26/voting-patterns-in-the-2024-election/ Word the Jewish vote for Trump in 2024 was solely 35% in comparison with 63% for Harris.
In new polling of late March, reported by Newsweek, “Trump’s approval [is] slipping into damaging territory amongst each Catholics and Protestants. Amongst Catholic voters, 48 % mentioned they approve of Trump’s job efficiency, whereas 52 % disapprove, a web damaging of 4 factors… Simply weeks earlier, Catholics had leaned the opposite approach. Within the prior Fox Information ballot, carried out February 28 by means of March 2, 2026, Trump held a slender edge with Catholics. In that survey, 52 % authorised and 48 % disapproved, giving him a web constructive ranking of 4 factors.” “Taken collectively, the 2 polls recommend a notable shift amongst Catholic voters over a interval of a number of weeks, flipping Trump’s standing with that group from a web constructive to a web damaging. Consideration round U.S.-Vatican relations intensified after Vance mentioned he would look into reviews that emerged on Monday in regards to the January assembly between Pentagon and Vatican officers.”
Supply: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-approval-rating-flips-with-christians-11741961
Supply: https://x.com/OSVNews/standing/2042354432218730819
Because the Catholic anti-war motion picks up momentum with sermon help from the diocesan pulpits and the Vatican, worry of midterm election defeat is rising for Trump and his chief pollster, Tony Fabrizio (Catholic), whose principal ally within the White Home is Chief of Employees Susan Wiles (Episcopalian, “Catholic lite”).
This vote swing is a bigger, long run risk to the 2 Catholic presidential successors, Vance and Rubio. The US press has but to report the political fallout for them. It is likely one of the causes Vance has been accepted by Trump on the management of the US negotiations with Iran in Islamabad this weekend. The subordination there of the 2 Jewish negotiators, Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner, additionally occurred within the Abu Dhabi spherical of negotiations with the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in January. At the moment, the Jews within the US delegation – Witkoff, Kushner and Joshua Gruenbaum – have been subordinated to the US Military Secretary and Vance protégé, Daniel Driscoll (Southern Baptist), his advisor Normal Randy George (then Military Chief of Employees) and Normal Alexus Grynkewicz, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
NOTE: In Colby’s risk to do to Pope Leo XIV what had been performed by France’s King Philip IV to Pope Boniface VIII at first of the 14th century “Avignon Papacy” he missed a way more latest precedent. That was Napoleon’s arrest and seizure of Pope Pius VII in 1809. The primary was a combat over state taxation of church property and of state courts over church courts. The second was a combat over the primacy of the state over the church in Napoleon’s new French structure.
Learn the second story within the context of an analogous transfer the Russian Church and Patriarch made to place the identify of God in President Vladimir Putin’s revision of the Russian Structure in 2021.
