VATICAN CITY: US Vice President JD Vance met with the Vatican’s second-highest official on Saturday, in which they discussed the thorny issue of refugees just two months after Pope Francis incurred the wrath of the White House after lambasting the new US administration over its migration policies.

Catholic convert Vance and his delegation held “cordial talks” with the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s secretary for relations with states, according to a Vatican statement.

The meeting came just a day after Vance met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and discussed US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.

“During the cordial talks” that praised bilateral relations, “the common commitment to protect the right to freedom of religion and conscience was reiterated,” the Vatican said in a statement.

That was a topic Vance brought up during a speech to the Munich Security Conference in February, when he slammed the “retreat” of free speech in Europe.

However, there were also discussions on subjects where the two sides do not see eye to eye. “There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees, and prisoners,” the Vatican added.

In February, Pope Francis angered the White House after writing a letter to US bishops in which he condemned Trump’s plan to deport migrants en masse, which he described as a “major crisis”. The US responded by telling Pope Francis to “stick to” religion.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2025