Avignon-Gate Reopens the MAGA-Catholic Rift
TL;DR
A January Pentagon meeting with Vatican diplomat Cardinal Pierre, reportedly referencing Avignon as a veiled warning to the Vatican after Pope Leo XIV criticized U.S. policy, has sparked the so-called Avignon-gate. While the Trump administration and Vatican deny the most explosive claims and accounts vary, the controversy underscores deep fractures within MAGA’s religious-right and the U.S. Catholic Church over immigration, the Iran war, and the pope’s role in criticizing U.S. foreign policy.
- Did the Trump administration threaten the pope? vox.com
- Cardinal’s meeting at Pentagon was ‘unusual,’ Vatican official says The Washington Post
- Vatican says report Pentagon officials lectured its ambassador about Pope Leo ‘completely untrue’ America Magazine
- JD Vance Reacts to Report US Official Issued Threat to Vatican Ambassador Newsweek
- Vatican backs up Pentagon on tone of Colby meeting The Hill
Want the full story? Read the original reporting
Read on vox.com