Vatican officials expressed concern about the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants during closed-door meetings with Vice President JD Vance at the Apostolic Palace Saturday in Rome.
Vance, a Catholic convert since 2019, met with Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Foreign Minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the White House said.
Vance’s office said he and Parolin “discussed their shared religious faith, Catholicism in the United States, the plight of persecuted Christian communities around the world, and President Trump’s commitment to restoring world peace.”
The Vatican said there was “an exchange of opinions” on international conflicts, humanitarian crises, and the treatment of migrants and prisoners, and expressed hope for “serene collaboration” with the U.S. Church.
The meeting came two months after Pope Francis, 88, rebuked the administration’s deportation agenda and warned they would deprive migrants of their dignity. While Vance did not meet with the pope, who is recovering from pneumonia, the papal position on immigration hung over the visit.
Parolin told Italian media before the meeting that President Donald Trump’s approach was “very different from what we are used to” and described the West’s shifting political landscape as unsettling.
“The Holy See always strives to place the human person at the centre, and many vulnerable people are suffering enormously, for example, due to cuts in humanitarian aid,” Parolin added.
The immigration divide between Rome and Washington has only deepened since January, when Vance told CBS News that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has “not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement.”
Vance, 40, accused the bishops at the time of being motivated by federal grant money to resettle “illegal immigrants,” saying, “Are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?”
The bishops’ conference pushed back, saying the federal funds do not cover the costs of their work and defending their humanitarian mission.
Vance has defended the administration’s enforcement policies by citing ordo amoris, a concept from medieval theology that prioritizes care for one’s own family and community first. Pope Francis directly rebutted that logic in a Feb. 10 letter, writing that Christian love “builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”
The trip included some lighter moments. After introducing his family to Parolin, Vance and his children received a private tour of the Sistine Chapel.
Later, the family was spotted at Rome’s botanic garden, where one of his sons wore a toy gladiator costume
Vance and his family attended Good Friday services at St. Peter’s Basilica the day before. On Sunday, his family is slated to attend Easter morning Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
With Post Wires