Vice President JD Vance recently traveled to the Vatican for the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV, and was granted an audience with the new American pope. And it appears to have gone better than his meeting earlier this year with the previous pontiff, Pope Francis, who passed away within hours of his sitdown with the vice president.
“During the cordial talks held at the Secretariat of State, satisfaction was once again expressed at the existing good bilateral relations, and the collaboration between Church and State was discussed, as well as some matters of special relevance to ecclesial life and religious freedom,” the Vatican said in its release about the meeting.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave Pope Leo an icon of the Blessed Mother and the Christ-child to symbolize the Ukrainian children suffering under the Russian invasion.
JD Vance gave Pope Leo a Chicago Bears jersey signed by him, his wife, and his children. pic.twitter.com/fusPynh6NM
— Christopher Hale (@chrisjollyhale) May 20, 2025
“Finally, there was an exchange of views on some current international issues, during which hope was expressed that humanitarian law and international law be respected in areas of conflict and that there be a negotiated solution between the parties involved.”
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This week, Vance sat for a podcast interview, in Rome with Ross Douthat of the New York Times, where the vice president shared more details about what was discussed in the meeting, including some surprising topics.
Stating that he wished to be ” respectful of the private conversation we had,” Vance shared what he talked about during his audience with the pope.
“We talked about issues the Vatican cares a lot about. Obviously, they care about the migration issue. They care a lot about world peace. They care a lot about what’s happening in Russia and Ukraine,” Vance said. “They care a lot about what’s happening with Gaza and Israel. It was a very productive conversation. I mean, amazing to me. As you know, I was one of the last world leaders to meet with Pope Francis on Easter Sunday, before he passed away. I’m actually wearing the tie that he gave me, which is very cool.”
Also? “Dating behavior.”
Some interesting tidbits in this Vance interview
(1) He’s read ai 2027
(2) In a potential loss of control scenario, If the US admin could be convinced China would pause, then maybe, just maybe they could be convinced to pause too?https://t.co/X20CXKGlDz— Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh (@S_OhEigeartaigh) May 21, 2025
“If you look at basic dating behavior among young people — and I think a lot of this is that the dating apps are probably more destructive than we fully appreciate,” Vance said of his discussion with the pope. “I think part of it is technology has just for some reason made it harder for young men and young women to communicate with each other in the same way. Our young men and women just aren’t dating, and if they’re not dating, they’re not getting married, they’re not starting families.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
