After Trump admin 'threat,' Pope takes a big decision

Pope Leo is said to have cancelled plans for a visit to the US later this year.

On Wednesday, reports emerged of an alleged rift between the Trump administration and the Vatican. The Free Press and The Letters from Leo reported that senior Pentagon officials summoned an ambassador representing American-born Pope Leo XIV to a closed-door meeting in January 2026, where they sharply criticized the Pope's annual address.

The Vatican has reportedly declined a White House invitation for the Pope to attend America’s 250th anniversary celebrations in July. (AFP)

What did Pentagon officials say?

Following the Pope's 'State of the World' address, US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby and other officials reportedly met with Cardinal Christophe Pierre, delivering what sources described as a blunt warning.

According to the reports, Colby and his colleagues told the cardinal, “The United States has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”

The meeting came shortly after the Pope’s annual address to the Vatican diplomatic corps on January 9, in which he warned that “war is back in vogue” and criticized what he described as “diplomacy based on force,” “imperialist occupation,” and the pursuit of global dominance.

Pope Leo argued that "a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force," adding, “war is back in vogue, and a zeal for war is spreading.”

Vatican reaction

According to the reports, the Vatican was deeply alarmed by the alleged warning. Pope Leo is said to have cancelled plans for a visit to the United States later this year.

Christopher Hale, author of The Letters from Leo article, wrote that “many in the Vatican saw the Pentagon’s reference to an Avignon papacy as a threat to use military force against the Holy See.”

In February, the Vatican reportedly declined a White House invitation for the Pope to attend America’s 250th anniversary celebrations in July. Instead, Pope Leo has reportedly chosen to visit Lampedusa, a small island between Tunisia and Sicily that has become a major landing point for North African migrants.

Pentagon responds

A Defense Department official, speaking to The Independent, disputed the reports, saying, “The Free Press’s characterization of the meeting is highly exaggerated and distorted. The meeting between Pentagon and Vatican officials was a respectful and reasonable discussion. We have nothing but the highest regard and welcome continued dialogue with the Holy See.”