The Pentagon has confirmed that senior officials met with Vatican representatives earlier this year, but strongly denied reports that the encounter was marked by threats or hostility.
The meeting took place on January 22 between Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby and His Eminence Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the outgoing papal Nuncio to the United States, who served as the Vatican’s U.S. envoy until March.
In a statement on Thursday, April 9, the Holy See said that United States Ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, spoke with Cardinal Pierre, regarding the January meeting with Under Secretary Elbridge Colby.
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.”
Pentagon denies reports of bitter clash with Vatican
According to the Holy See, the U.S. government and the Vatican embassy regularly meet with representatives of the Holy See, including the Nuncio.
“Deliberate misrepresentation of these routine meetings sows unfounded division and misunderstanding. Our relationship remains strong and productive,” the embassy said.
On his part, Ambassador Burch posted:
“I was pleased to speak today with His Eminence, Cardinal Christophe Pierre. As expected, he confirmed that recent media characterizations of his meeting with Undersecretary Colby are “fabrications” that were “just invented.” Given the intelligence and seriousness of Mr. Colby, I was likewise not suprised when His Eminence acknowledged there were no threats of any kind in the meeting. “It was a frank and cordial meeting that took place two months ago.” Threat of Avignon? “None.”
A Pentagon spokesperson had earlier told Religion News Service that the report of a bitter clash was “highly exaggerated and distorted,” adding that the Department of War has “nothing but the highest regard and welcome continued dialogue with the Holy See.”
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The Vatican’s Secretariat of the Apostolic Nunciature also described the meeting as “standard,” noting that it was held to discuss current affairs.
Conflicting accounts
The Free Press, a New York‑based media outlet, reported that the meeting was tense and that Colby warned Pierre that the U.S. has the military power “to do whatever it wants in the world.”
According to the report, Colby told the Vatican it “better take its side” and raised the historical example of the Avignon Papacy, when French kings exerted control over the papacy in the 14th century.
Letters from Leo newsletter author Christopher Hale wrote that some Vatican officials viewed Colby’s comments as a “threat to use military force against the Holy See.”
The report claimed the meeting alarmed Vatican officials and led to the cancellation of a planned visit by Pope Leo XIV to the United States later this year.
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Cardinal Christophe Pierre retired from his post as papal Nuncio on March 7 after a decade of service and was replaced by Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia. Pierre had represented the Vatican in Washington and was a central figure in the January meeting.
On February 24, Pierre spoke at the installation ceremony for Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez in Palm Beach, where he emphasized the diocese’s diversity and unity in faith.
“It is a church called to proclaim the gospel in a context shaped by mobility, diversity, and genuine human need,” Pierre said.
Reports of his Pentagon meeting have placed him at the center of a potential diplomatic firestorm.
Pope Leo XIV’s criticism of the Iran War
The controversy comes as Pope Leo XIV has emerged as one of the most prominent global critics of President Trump’s war on Iran. Shortly after U.S. military operations began, the pope warned that a “spiral of violence” could become “an unbridgeable chasm.”
During Palm Sunday mass, he declared: “Jesus is the King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
Earlier this week, Pope Leo condemned President Trump’s post on Truth Social, threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight” unless Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
The pontiff called the statement “truly unacceptable,” urging people to “reject war, especially a war in which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate, and which is not resolving anything.” He added that “all attacks on civilian infrastructure are against international law.”
