Pentagon and Cardinal Pierre deny reports of U.S. threat to the Vatican

Through communiqués on the 'X' platform, Washington has settled the matter involving the Catholic Church and the White House via a meeting between Cardinal Cristophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the US, and senior Pentagon officials last January. The media outlet The Free Press, through journalist Mattia Ferraresi, had reported that the War Department had confronted the Holy See over the rhetoric of Pope Leo XIV on the Trump Administration's foreign policy. However, the Pentagon itself took to 'X' to dismiss the story as overblown, calling the meeting "respectful and reasonable."

The Pentagon, which posted photos of the meeting, said, "Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby had a substantive, respectful, and professional meeting with Cardinal Pierre, the then-Papal Nuncio, and his team on January 22, 2026. During the cordial meeting, they discussed a range of topics, including issues of morality in foreign policy, the logic of the U.S. National Security Strategy, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and other topics. Cardinal Pierre expressed his appreciation for the outreach, and both sides looked forward to continued open and respectful dialogue."

According to the War Department, the report published in The Free Press, which quickly went viral on social networks and was covered by dozens of media outlets around the world, was "highly exaggerated and distorted."

In addition to the Pentagon, U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch said he spoke directly with Cardinal Pierre about the matter and attributed a denial to the report.

According to a statement from the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, "The Cardinal emphatically denied the media's portrayal of his meeting with Colby." He described the meeting as 'frank, but very cordial' and a 'normal encounter.' He confirmed that the reporting 'does not reflect what happened' and was 'just invented to make a story.'"

The main controversy according to the report is that,during the meeting, U.S. officials had allegedly invoked the 14th century Avignon Papacy, i.e., the historical period when the French Crown used its military power to bend the will of the Bishop of Rome and control the papacy. As the article went viral, many interpreted the information as an implicit threat from the Pentagon to the Holy See, generating tension and strong concern within the Vatican.

However, the author of the article, Ferraresi, turned to 'X' to clarify that such a mention, if it occurred, could not be interpreted as a war threat.

"I think we can agree that this is not something people raise up in a meeting at the Pentagon to make the Nuncio feel welcome. But to interpret that as a literal military threat is just absurd, IMHO," said Ferratesi, who, despite the denials, continued to defend his article citing sources familiar with the conversation.

"Took the very rapid response team two and a half months to report the meeting. Which, according to my sources, was not as idyllic as it's presented here," the reporter asserted.