Headline Roundup • April 9th, 2026
Pentagon Denies Reports of Threatening Top Vatican Diplomat
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Pentagon denied reports that a senior defense official threatened a top Vatican diplomat during a meeting on January 22.
The Allegations: A Free Press (Lean Right bias) report on Monday alleged that Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby, and other officials told Cardinal Christophe that the US possessed the military power to "do whatever it wants" and that the Church should "take its side" in its war with Iran. Letters from Leo substack writer Christopher Hale reported that a US official "invoked" the "Avignon Papacy," a period from 1309 to 1376 when France's king captured the Pope and held him and the subsequent seven popes in France. The Pentagon denied the report, calling it "grossly false and distorted."
Vatican Response: A source "close" to the Pope told NBC Chicago (Center) the meeting was "most unpleasant and confrontational." MeidasTouch News (Left) reported the Vatican cancelled a papal visit to the US for its 250th anniversary celebration. It wrote, "The Vatican was apparently so spooked by the Pentagon meeting it cancelled Pope Leo's visit to the U.S. for the 4th of July." Pope Leo will now visit a tiny island off the coast of Tunisia instead, which MeidasTouch said "has become a waypoint for thousands of migrants attempting to sail from North Africa to Italy."
For Context: Pope Leo XIV has spoken out multiple times against the Trump administration and warned against escalating military action in Iran. During Holy Week and Easter this year, Pope Leo made several appeals for peace, including telling his followers to believe in a "God who rejects war."
How the Media Covered It: Outlets on the right generally emphasized the Pentagon's dispute of the claims, while left-leaning outlets generally emphasized the alleged threats made against the Vatican. MeidasTouch and TruthOut (Left) noted other foreign actions by the Trump administration this year, including the US "invasion of Venezuela and Iran" and its "threaten[ing] of Cuba's 10 million people with an oil blockade." Breitbart (Right) reported Cardinal Christophe denied the "explosive report" of the threat, citing a post by U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch.
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Featured Coverage of this Story
A meeting between the Pentagon and a Vatican ambassador has raised eyebrows after conflicting reports indicate tensions may be rising between the White House and the Vatican.
The U.S. government is aggressively pushing back on reports of a falling out with the Holy See, calling claims of a January dust-up at the Department of War "grossly false."
REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Riccardo De Luca
The Vatican has cancelled a papal visit to the U.S. for the 250th anniversary celebration after Pentagon officials appeared to threaten the leader of the Catholic Church for speaking out against Trump's foreign policy.
