Controversial decisions taken by the current administration may be to blame for why Pope Leo XIV and the USA are feuding
The Pontiff’s stance on the US president and Iran marks a change in a relationship now just on the verge of open conflict and heightens suspicion Pope Leo XIV and the USA might be feuding.
In a high-level meeting between US Department of War officials and the Vatican’s U.S. ambassador, a serious fallout appears to have occurred.
Elise Ann Allen, Senior Correspondent in the Vatican for the Crux website, told The Pat Kenny Show on Sunday it could be presumed the meeting was related to the United States' recent foreign policy decisions.
Notably, the unilateral and controversial decision to arrest and to bring President Nicolas Maduro to the United States and the ongoing war with Iran.
“While the language of diplomacy is always somewhat polite”, she told Newstalk.
“If you read between the lines, I think it was quite an uneasy discussion. I know that there have been debates about this whole issue of unionism. U.S. foreign policy in the Vatican, the tensions were increasing.
“I think that the tensions between the United States and the Vatican, given some of the foreign policy decisions, have only been increasing.
“I think this meeting was really a reflection of that. I don't know that it marked a significant change.”
She said the Pope’s messages were quite potent during the Holy Week liturgies and Easter.
Cardinals attend a mass. Picture by: AP Photo/Andreea Alexandreau.“He gave a very strong homily, a very strong speech on that occasion, condemning, calling sort of this logic of war as demonic and that seems to be taking over the world.
“He said there are continuous violations of international law and the use of faith to defend war and violence.
“You can obviously apply that to, you know, what the United States is doing in the Middle East right now, but you can apply it also to what Russia has done also in Ukraine.”
Why some say Pope Leo XVI and the USA are feuding
Mrs Allen said the Pope may have been trying to call out the generic mentality underlying such conflicts by interrogating what makes people want to use Christian faith to justify violence.
The Pope’s absence for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence could have been interpreted by some US officials as a missed opportunity given his American background.
There had previoulsy been talks the current pontiff would engage in a multy-city tour.
“I think that's something that Pope Leo, especially as an American, wants to avoid”, she told The Pat Kenny Show.
“He would be most certainly hijacked by the administration in some way on a multi-city tour with the need for security.
“This is something Donald Trump and the administration should be worried about.
“Pope Leo is the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide. We know how many Catholics there are in quite prominent positions in the United States administration right now.”
Main Image: Pope Leo XIV. Picture by: Alamy.
