U.S. officials deny reports of strained Vatican meeting

The U.S. Embassy to the Vatican on Thursday insisted that its relationship with the Holy See remained strong and productive, after a report by The Free Press claimed tensions were high. The report centered around a January meeting between a Defense Department official and the outgoing papal representative to the United States, Cardinal Christophe Pierre. Pierre on Thursday said the meeting was frank, but cordial, and that the report was inaccurate, according to the U.S. Embassy. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni also said that the media narrative about the meeting was completely untrue, according to Catholic news source Crux.

The report had claimed that senior U.S. defense officials in January summoned Pierre for a lecture, berating him over the Pope’s recent pointed criticism of U.S. military action. Both U.S. and Vatican officials anonymously confirmed that interpretation of the meeting, according to The Free Press. One U.S. official invoked the Avignon papacy, the period of time in which several popes lived in France rather than Rome due to the influence of the French king, according to the report.

What else are U.S. officials saying? In addition to the U.S. Embassy, several other American departments and leaders denied that interpretation of the meeting. Ambassador to the Vatican Brian Burch said that Pierre told him no threats or mentions of Avignon came up during the meeting. The Defense Department said the discussion covered issues of morality in U.S. foreign policy and that it remained respectful. The department went on to characterize the report as grossly false.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ report on the pope’s Easter call for an end to war.