Rome [Italy], April 21: Pope Francis granted a brief audience to US Vice President JD Vance on Easter Sunday morning, a Vatican spokesman said.
No details were released on the meeting, which took place in the Domus Sanctae Martae (Saint Martha's House) where the pope has been living since his discharge from hospital some four weeks ago. Vance, accompanied by his wife and children met Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on Saturday. The US vice president converted to Catholicism in 2019.
Vance's visit came just two months after a spat between Francis and the administration of US President Donald Trump over its policies, including plans to deport millions of migrants and refugees and widespread cuts to foreign aid and domestic welfare programmes.
The pope, who called the immigration crackdown a "disgrace", rejected Vance's attempted use of medieval-era Catholic teachings to justify the policy in an unusual open letter to US Catholic bishops. "JD Vance [was] trying to interpret a certain theology as saying that you should look after those closest to you before you worry about those abroad. The pope then wrote a letter to US bishops and said: 'No, you need to think about everyone,'" said Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the Vatican.
Source: Qatar Tribune
