Following reports this week that a Vatican official was summoned to the Pentagon earlier this year and lectured, Pope Leo XIV is reportedly not planning to visit the United States this summer for the 250th anniversary commemorations- or likely at all during President Trump’s presidency.
The Free Press reported this week on growing tensions between the Trump Administration and Pope Leo, who last year became the first American elected as pope. The pontiff has been vocally critical of the war in Iran as well as the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. The publication also reported that in January, “senior U.S. defense officials summoned a top Vatican diplomat to the Pentagon. What happened inside that room set the tone for everything that followed: Vatican officials briefed on the meeting, who spoke with The Free Press on the condition of anonymity, described it as a bitter lecture warning that the United States has the military power to do whatever it wants—and that the Church had better take its side.”
When asked about that this week, Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, stated that he had never heard of the cardinal in question.
Reporter: There is reporting that Pentagon officials brought in Cardinal Christophe Pierre and told him the American military can do whatever they want and the church should get on its side
Vance: I don’t know who Cardinal Christophe Pierre Is pic.twitter.com/78bHiqbrTA
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 8, 2026
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
The Free Press also quoted a Vatican official as stating that Pope Leo has no plans to visit the United States during Trump’s time in office.
Per The Independent, following that meeting, the Pope “refused Trump’s invitation to attend the nation’s 250th anniversary events.”
The Illinois native has not yet returned to the United States for an official visit since his election. He also had never said that he was planning to attend the July 4 festivities. But in February, the Vatican announced that he would spend July 4 on a visit to Lampedusa, described by Time magazine as “a small Italian island that has for years served as a gateway for migrants and refugees traveling to Europe from Africa and the Middle East.”
The Pope will, on July 3, accept the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, although he will be addressing the festivities remotely. The pontiff was chosen for the medal for his “lifelong work promoting religious liberty and freedom of conscience and expression around the world.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
