US vice-president JD Vance met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday in Rome for a second day of talks on prices, then attended Friday services in the Vatican in the middle of speculation on a possible pope salvation this weekend.
“I miss you,” said Meloni jokingly in Vance when entering the courtyard of the Palais de Chigi, the Prime Minister’s office.
They had seen each day the day before at the Oval Office, where Trump provided praise on the Italian chief for his repression against migration but did not give in to the pricing plans which increased tensions with the European Union and fears of recession.
Friday, the office of the White House and Meloni published a joint statement which said that Trump would visit Italy “in the very close future”.
“He is also considered to hold, on this occasion, a meeting between the United States and Europe,” the statement said.
Vance, a Catholic convert, then attended the Good Friday services with his wife and three children in the Saint-Pierre Basilica and was to meet on Saturday with the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Paroline.
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No meeting with Pope Francis has been officially announced and the pontiff did not attend the two -hour solemn service, which was chaired by a Vatican cardinal. The 88-year-old pope brutally reduced his work schedule while he recovers in an almost deadly case of double pneumonia, and his participation in the Easter services of the weekend is uncertain.
Francis, however, recently met King Charles III and the officials have not excluded a possible audience with Vance, who criticized Francis on social networks in the past, although more recently has offered prayers for his recovery.
Francis and Vance strongly tangled on the migration and plans of the Trump administration to expel the mass migrants. Francis has made the care of migrants a characteristic of its papacy and its progressive opinions on questions of social justice have often disagreed it with the members of the more conservative American Catholic Church.
Only a few days before his hospitalization in February, Francis castigated the deportation plans of the Trump administration, warning that they would deprive the migrants of their inherent dignity. In a letter to the American bishops, Francis also seemed to respond directly to Vance for affirming that Catholic doctrine justified such politicians.
Vance had defended the repression first of the administration in America first by quoting a concept of medieval Catholic theology known in Latin under the name of “Ordo Amoris”. He declared that the concept delimits a hierarchy of care – with the family first, followed by the neighbor, the community, the other citizens and finally those elsewhere.
In his letter of February 10, Francis seemed to correct the understanding of the concept.
“Christian love is not a concentrate expansion of interests that extends roughly to other people and groups,” he wrote. “The real Amoris Ordo which must be promoted is that which we discover by constantly meditating on the parable of” good Samaritan “, that is to say by meditating love which builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”
Vance recognized Francis’ criticism, but said that he would continue to defend his opinions.
“I am grateful every day for this work, but especially today when my official functions have brought me to Rome on Good Friday,” posted Vance on X. “I wish all Christians around the world, but in particular those at home in the United States, a Good Friday.”
On the Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Christ and was marked by the Vatican with a Latin service in Saint-Pierre and a night procession and in colosseum tears.
Meloni positioned itself as a bridge between the Trump administration and Europe and was the only EU chief to attend its inauguration. As a chief of an extreme right party, she is ideologically aligned with Trump on questions such as reducing migration and promoting traditional values. But Italy and the United States have diverged on Meloni’s strong support in Ukraine, while Trump’s pricing threat has put pressure on Meloni to defend the EU business interests on behalf of the block.
Panic of the bond market led Trump to partially withdraw his prices by stopping its 20% taxes on the EU for 90 days and invoicing a reference of 10% instead. But Trump said on Thursday that he was not in a hurry to conclude trade agreements.
Friday, Vance reaffirmed the American-Italian friendship and told Meloni that he would have her informed of certain “interesting” developments in the negotiations of Russia-Ukraine. “Bry trade negotiations” would continue, he said.
Like Trump, Vance seemed dazzled by the Italian language of Meloni even if he did not understand what she said.
“Of course, she could have called me a fool and I would not know, but it would be in the most beautiful imaginable language, so I would not even be offended,” he said at the start of their talks.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press
