Oh My! The Pentagon Threatened Pope Leo XIV's Ambassador With the Avignon Papacy

[malaise]

https://www.thelettersfromleo.com/p/the-pentagon-threatened-pope-leo

[UPDATE at 4:33 PM EDT: Letters from Leo can now independently confirm The Free Press report that the meeting took place — and that some Vatican officials were so alarmed by the Pentagon’s tactics that they shelved plans for Pope Leo XIV to visit the United States later this year.

Other officials in the Vatican saw the Pentagon’s reference to an Avignon papacy as a threat to use military force against the Holy See.]

In January, behind closed doors at the Pentagon, Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre — Pope Leo XIV’s then-ambassador to the United States — and delivered a lecture.

“America,” Colby and his colleagues told the cardinal, “has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”

As tempers rose, one U.S. official reached for a fourteenth-century weapon and invoked the Avignon Papacy, the period when the French Crown used military force to bend the bishop of Rome to its will.——————
Nicole mentioned this

[mercuryblues]

1. WTF.

These people are insane.

[malaise]

6. Well there goes Italy

See yah Slobby!

[BonnieJW]

45. And all the Catholics of the world

[rampartd]

106. the anti catholicism of these maga know nothings is in their dna.

[Wednesdays]

102. And much of Latin America.

And Ireland. Continental Europe, maybe not so much, but there are enough devout Catholics there that it won't be good for him there, either.

[róisín_dubh]

110. Much of Western Europe...

save for the knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing far right pretty much despise the US leadership at this stage anyway. No one is happy with Vance fucking around in Hungary either

[flashman13]

55. To the right wing Evangelicals, the pope is the devil incarnate and Catholicism is an abomination.

You might have missed that Catholics were pointedly told they were not welcome at Hogsbreath's Easter service.

[calimary]

70. Who says we'd even want to go to such an - um - "event"?

ANY Catholic Church would have already flung their doors wide open.

ALL are welcome at The Lord’s table. Or at least that’s what I learned in Catholic school. Jesus forgave sinners as He hung on the cross, near death. Why would He leave anybody out, now?

[Ms. Toad]

76. You must have grown up in a different era than I did.

A number of us were curious about other denominations and decided to attend each other's services. The Catholics were forbidden from attending any other services, and it was made clear we weren't welcome to attend their (even though none of ours (Quaker, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran) forbid it)

[flashman13]

85. I dated a Jewish girl in high school and went to synagogue with her family a couple of times.

People there went out of their way to make me feel welcome.

[Ms. Toad]

92. The rest of us were all friendly and had a good time at each other's churches.

It was just the Catholics who both excluded others and were not allowed to attend other churches. This was in the 60s and early 70s. By the late 70s/early 80s it had changed, at least as to welcoming others to attend their services.

[Wednesdays]

96. I can vouch for that.

My father was a devout Catholic, and when he went to a Jesuit high school, he suggested to the music director that they should sing Bach's St. Matthew's Passion in choir. The choir director was horrified. Needless to say, Bach was forbidden at the school.

Times have changed since then, however.

[calimary]

112. Yep. Catholic here. Oh boy did we obey.

Yeah. You didn’t talk in church. And you went to MASS. PERIOD. You did NOT investigate other faiths’ services. What I remember is that there was a bit more relaxed attitude toward that one. There were wealthy people and famous people whose kids went to that school. And a lot of those parents had all kinds of mixed marriages.

And on top of that, a close friend of mine in the older grades was a Greek Orthodox kid. First time I a) heard of that religion to begin with, and b) actually knew somebody who subscribed to that religion.

[flashman13]

84. I guess the point is that it was made clear they wren't invited. I'm no expert, but that doesn't sound very christian.

[B.See]

91. They're in league with the antiChrist

These cultists would shoot their own mothers if Trump/maga told them to.

Think that's an exaggeration? Ask that Texas couple whose unvaccinated daughter died of measles this time last year.

No regrets. God's will they said.

Sick.

[Marcuse]

95. Another regime change scheme?

[SunSeeker]

2. So is Trump going to bomb the Vatican?

He is completely insane.

[ananda]

35. It's definitely an implied threat.

Pope Leo is wise to stay out of the USA right now.

[ananda]

38. And, does he want to move the seat of the papacy to the White House?

Remember that picture of Trump as the pope?

[SunSeeker]

93. Wonder what Catholic convert JD Vance thinks of all that...

[vapor2]

59. don't give him any ideas plz

[BlueKota]

3. I hope the fucking Catholics that voted for the tsf

are proud of themselves now the Catholic Church is being threatened.

[mucifer]

5. Those Catholics hate their Pope. Other Catholics love their Pope.

[paleotn]

14. But do they love Whiskey Pete going all "30 Years War" at the Pentagon?

During holy week? No service for Catholics of any stripe. Protestants only.

[BlueKota]

37. Many of them like Whiskey Pete

don't even consider Catholics
Christian. A Jewish friend of my sister asked her, if she considered herself a Christian. She said "no", that she may not go to church, but she still considers herself a Catholic. She said, and I agree we in no way want to be mistaken with the perverted Maga brand of Christianity.

[ybbor]

25. Exactly!

I’m sure my “super religious” Catholic brother and sister-in-law hate the pope because he actually follows the words of JC, therefore, he is woke! They’re, meaning a lot of my “holier than thou” family members and exclassmates, total hypocrites who, obviously, were reading a different bible than I was, and believe the “American Jesus” would think their dear leader is righteous in his actions against the horrible Muslim infidels. It’s the new Crusades, don’t cha know. 🤮

[BlueKota]

32. I really admire this Pope.

For the first time in a long time, I am proud of the Church I was raised in.

[ShazzieB]

49. Not raised Catholic, but I'm definitely impressed with Leo.

I could feel my temper rising when I read about Schlump threatening the Vatican.

[Dulcinea]

77. I was raised Catholic too.

I liked Pope Francis & I like Pope Leo. They represent what Christianity should be.

[BlueKota]

82. I agree. These two most recent Popes to me represent

what was written in the New Testament. While these Magat religious zealots seem to want to go back to the eye for an eye Old Testament mentality. In my opinion they're trying to eliminate Jesus Christ from Christianity.

[yourout]

103. I agree. As a recovering ex Catholic I do like..

Francis and Leo.
My Mrs is a Lutheran (the evangelical brand not the mean ones that won't allow women as clergy)
And I occasionally go with her and they have a very good female pastor and if I was going to be a regular it would be there.
Very welcoming and inclusive.

[maxsolomon]

8. Trumpist Conservative Catholics will never hear about this incident.

Not in their Fox Bubbles.

They wouldn't understand the threat even if they did.

[underpants]

33. Not a chance. I'd have probably never heard of it without DU

They summoned the Vatican’s ambassador….to browbeat him.

[a kennedy]

27. Yah, my whole damn family voted for the orange piece of shit BECAUSE OF HIS ABORTION STANCE!!!!!!

AND THAT WAS IT. THE ABORTION STANCE!!!! Needless to say I DON’T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF TIME FOR THEM. 🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬

[rurallib]

29. yeppers - got some friends like that

[ShazzieB]

51. It's so ironic how many fell for his anti-abortion act.

I dont believe for a movement that he gives a fat rat's ass about abortion, but SO many people fell for that.

[SheilaAnn]

63. I wonder how many he paid for over the years. n/t

[ShazzieB]

67. Right?

A bunch, I'm sure.

[JBTaurus83]

105. They don't even care if he believes

As long as he is an effective Trojan Horse for their hellhole version of Earth.

[OhioBack2Blue]

66. Do they know how many abortions

....that orange walking diarrhea has caused himself??? Dozens.
2. Rich women will always be able to abort.
3. The Bible itself does not explicitly mention or forbid abortion. Full stop.

[Wednesdays]

98. Indeed, the Bible says nothing about abortion, except for a how-to.

Numbers, chapter 5.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%205&version=NIV

[slightlv]

71. I gotcha beat, I think...

my brother and his entire family voted for the POS because of GUNS! Like, the Democrats ever did anything that negated the "free for all, wild west" environment around guns in the U.S. But they'll tell you tooth and nail that if Democrats ever got into office they'd take away everybody's guns. Stupid. Sis feels like I do... so politics, even just names, are off limits when Bro is near, which isn't too often. He's tried to reach out a few times to us since our Mom died last year, but he's even more of a loner than I am. We try to welcome him as much as possible in order to keep some semblance of the family together, but it's hard and not real comfy. LOL! Since trump put himself in the Oval this time around, we've not heard one word from Bro about this admin. Something tells me he may be coming around to our way of thinking, since trump is now threatening Medicare, SS, etc., and my brother just started drawing his. Funny how that works, eh?

[3catwoman3]

90. I'm quite sure Trump doesn't really give 2 hoots about abortion...

...and just fakes it because it's a vote getter.

[area51]

109. +1

After all #PEDOnald wanted to have Tiffany aborted.

[Sneederbunk]

4. TSF and crew had better get ready for some smiting.

[wnylib]

7. Guess they really don't like Leo's public statements

about US policies. I hope that Leo is not intimidated into silence. The US military would refuse to carry out orders against the Vatican, just as they recently did in the threats against Iran.

[malaise]

9. This was January so they must really be pissed with his comments

These past few days.

[Volaris]

52. Thats probably why hes been making them, Chicago Pope cares more about the Cubs than he does their threats lol.

Also, I fucking PROMISE YOU that 'conversation'...came from that wannabe crusader nut Hegseth; this meeting was his idea.

[malaise]

56. Agree

He’ll soon understand the ‘stakes’.😀

[MustLoveBeagles]

36. I can't help but being afraid for his safety

[niyad]

10. Dear Goddess, these people are beyond deranged and dangerous.

[Deuxcents]

11. I just caught the tail end of her segment before the break..what's going on? I need to read up on the Avignon Papacy

And what the history of that is. What arrogance from the Pentagon

[malaise]

15. need to read up on the Avignon Papacy

Join the line😀
My mum would have been good for this one.

[Wednesdays]

99. Avignon Papacy, in a nutshell:

The French king, ca. 14th century, didn't like the pope. So he merely appointed his own pope, who resided in Avignon.

[Passages]

12. Omg what a manipulative bunch of degenerates.

See that, a new low almost daily.

Good on the Pope and his peeps! He refused to be intimidated and certainly wasn't going to be used.

[3825-87867]

13. Nobody expects

the stupid imposition.

[rubbersole]

16. There's an almost full bingo card of pissed off religious groups that tsf is about to complete.

How he still has somewhere near 30% support on anything is baffling. Corporate media isn't going to be able to keep putting any more lipstick on this pig.

[AverageOldGuy]

17. Colby is NOT . . .

. . . " Under Secretary of War for Policy " -- he is " Under Secretary of DEFENSE for Policy."

[valleyrogue]

108. He is a nepo baby, a grandson of one-time CIA head William Colby. n/t

[PuraVidaDreamin]

18. If only there were some super secret Vatican police force

That could work some freaking miracle right now!

[Trueblue1968]

86. The church has had or does have secret people who can take care of a situation that you're alluding to.

I don know the exact historical details but in centuries past, violent deeds have occurred against enemies of the Church.


I just can't remember.

[AverageOldGuy]

19. The Avignon Papacy

Here's a link to Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_Papacy

Here's the AI response:

The Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) was a period when seven successive popes, all French, resided in Avignon, France, rather than Rome, due to political turmoil. Initiated by Pope Clement V, this "Babylonian Captivity" saw the papacy under strong French influence, causing widespread decline in prestige and fueling European conflicts before ending with the return to Rome.

Apparently the French Emperor (King ?) was pissed off at the Church, so, when a French cardinal was elected Pope, the French crown forced him to remain in Avignon, France, and several successive French Popes were forced to remain in Avignon.

Not being Catholic, all I know is what I read on the 'net. However, as best I can tell, the "Avignon Papacy" is a warning about the dangers of mixing religion and politics.

[Deuxcents]

21. Thanks..got to reading this history, too. I'm wondering just why the pentagon is bringing this up now

Is it because the Pope is anti war and not siding with this invasion of Iran?

[malaise]

22. Thank you AverageOldGuy

[MustLoveBeagles]

41. Thanks

[AverageOldGuy]

20. And now: Recently-converted Catholic JD Vance says he will "look into the report"

https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-reacts-report-us-official-issued-threat-vatican-ambassador-11802350

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday he would look into reports that senior Pentagon officials lectured the Vatican's ambassador, leading to the cancellation of a planned visit by Pope Leo XIV.

Vance, speaking in Hungary, was asked about reports first shared by The Free Press that claimed Cardinal Christophe Pierre was told in January that the Vatican and the Catholic Church should get on board with the Trump administration's military tactics.

[Deuxcents]

23. Well, this just answered my question..thanks

[underpants]

47. He has a pre-campaign book out. It has a church on the cover.

[niyad]

62. A church he had never even been in, much less attended.

[Wednesdays]

101. A church that's not even Roman Catholic. nt

[llmart]

74. He looks like a young Jonathan Winters.

Except Jonathan Winters was a really funny guy. There is nothing funny about this fraud.

[Dulcinea]

83. How long until VD Jance renounces Catholicism & goes full fundie?

He's enough of a shameless opportunist to do it. He has no ideology except power.

[littlemissmartypants]

24. Makes sense to me...

After all, the Pope's not a Christian Nationalist is he?

That would make him the enemy.

[Irish_Dem]

26. Going to war with the Pope.

That wasn't on my bingo card.
I'm slipping.

[no_hypocrisy]

28. Steve Bannon's wet dream

[underpants]

30. They had a "fourteenth-century weapon" handy?

[MustLoveBeagles]

43. Thanks for the info

[Crowman2009]

31. I think it's long past due to excommunicate many of these right-wing fascist Catholics in America.

Cpl. Jackass Dickface Vance being one of them. I seriously had an opportunity to prevent him from becoming VP. But like the butterfly effect, I checked the wrong box with regards to my choice of duty station and didn't bother to re-enlist in 2002 which was a year before that fucker went to boot camp.

[Scrivener7]

34. Like that will scare him. Bob doesn't strike me as the type to suffer fools. He also strikes me as the type

who knows exactly how much power he wields.

[patphil]

39. The forces of darkness have thrown down the gauntlet.

The Satan in the White House and his Demonic Secretary of WAR have threatened the Pope, and all of Catholicism.
The Catholic Church has already taken it's side; the side of Jesus. They have taken the side of spiritual truth and justice; the side of love.

So now we can see Hegseth in his true form as the beast he truly is. The Trump government is evil incarnate.

[Joinfortmill]

40. Jeezus. Impeach him!

[MerryBlooms]

42. Well, that's some crazy shit right there.

[Cirsium]

44. Say what?

This isn't a parody?

[Emrys]

46. Welp, for those who thought this administration left the rails and went full wackaloon in the last few weeks,

it just proves that happened months ago.

I'm surprised they didn't propose Vance as Leo's usurper, what with his liking for fabrics and all.

[blue-wave]

50. Yup. God help us all!!

[Emrys]

58. I mean, would you look at that upholstery:

FFWWWAAAARRRRR

[blue-wave]

72. Jay Dee would

look so good sitting there with his glitter eyeliner.

[blue-wave]

48. How many American Cardinals

are going to inform their congregations of this? I won't hold my breath waiting for the announcements.

[DBoon]

53. I'm confident there will be not a word of this on EWTN

[Buzz cook]

54. The Avignon Papacy could be second pope

France didn't like the Italian pope so they installed a French pope in Avignon.
So Trump is thinking of a split from Rome for American (maga) Catholics.

Good luck with that.

[Emrys]

65. Well, it's high time the Antipope put in an appearance

Spirit of the age and all that.

Vance could take on that role, leaving the Antichrist for Trump. That should keep the Evangelicals happy.

[red dog 1]

57. Kick!

Every single day we are reminded that the Trump Crime Family is diabolically evil.

[vapor2]

60. Didn't the Pope snub Vance on his last visit?

Love this Pope as Leo was my dad's name

[malaise]

64. Yes

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pope-leo-xiv-snubs-jd-vance-as-he-meets-with-world-leaders/

[DFW]

61. So now Trump is going to bomb the Vatican?

You's think he could find something better to do. But I guess one could say that about EVERYTHING he does.

[malaise]

79. Another link

https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1sg7s36/pentagon_threatened_the_pope_after_he_criticized/

[Mblaze]

68. To match the elbow-bending tendencies of Pete Hegseth,

The Pentagon is drunk with power.

[Figarosmom]

69. They are all drunk on power.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

73. Pentagon Threatened the Pope After He Criticized Trump

It was so bad that Pope Leo changed his plans to travel to the U.S.

This thin-skinned mafia administration is insane.
newrepublic.com/post/208820/...

— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) 2026-04-08T22:50:43.514Z

https://newrepublic.com/post/208820/pentagon-threatened-pope-criticized-donald-trump

Relations between the U.S. and the Catholic Church have not been the same since January, when senior U.S. defense officials shared an abrasive message with a Vatican official.

Days after Pope Leo XIV delivered his State of the World speech, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s U.S. representative, to a closed-door Pentagon meeting for a bitter lecture.

“The United States,” Colby said, according to a blistering new report by The Free Press, “has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”

One U.S. official present at the meeting brought up the Avignon papacy, a period in the 14th century in which the French monarchy bent the Catholic Church into submission, ordering an attack on Pope Boniface VIII that led to his downfall and subsequent death and forcing the papacy to relocate from Rome to Avignon, a region inside France......

The Vatican was so alarmed by the Pentagon’s warning that Pope Leo cancelled his plans to visit the U.S. later in the year, reported Hale, who noted that “many in the Vatican saw the Pentagon’s reference to an Avignon papacy as a threat to use military force against the Holy See.”

Tensions had not been mended by February, when the Holy See rejected the White House’s invitation to host Pope Leo—the religious order’s first U.S.-born pontiff—for America’s 250th anniversary in July. Instead, the Catholic leader has arranged to visit a very different locale on July 4: Lampedusa, a tiny island between Tunisia and Sicily where North African immigrants wash ashore by the thousands

Hegseth is a religious nut case who believes that G-d is supporting trump's war and military actions. I note that Hegseth excluded Catholics from Good Friday religious events. See https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221145488 If nothing else, Hegseth's actions/statements and the attack on the Pope violate the basic fundamental precepts of the separation of church and state.

[malaise]

75. Good link

Important snip

Tensions had not been mended by February, when the Holy See rejected the White House’s invitation to host Pope Leo—the religious order’s first U.S.-born pontiff—for America’s 250th anniversary in July. Instead, the Catholic leader has arranged to visit a very different locale on July 4: Lampedusa, a tiny island between Tunisia and Sicily where North African immigrants wash ashore by the thousands

Thanks

[delisen]

78. Remember when Trump dressed up as the Pope?

Trump is not the planner of this right wing coup, he is the front man. He gets to cosplay and do foreshadowing and trolling.
He is the talent, the entertainer, the showman. He gets to say: You’re Fired. Bul the big decisions are made elsewhere.

The planners are madmen too, but there is a method to their madness.

Peter Thiel has been doing seminars on the Antichrist right down the street from the Vatican.

Pope Leo is reining in Opus Dei, bringing the church back to the people and the Conservative Catholic movement is very angry. I

[malaise]

80. THIS

Rec

[spanone]

81. Well, I thought they were all devout Christians.....nope it's all cosplay.

Don't take any shit from them Leo.

Pope says Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization is ‘truly unacceptable’

BY NICOLE WINFIELD
Updated 3:14 PM CDT, April 7, 2026
Leer en español
Comments 182
ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization was “truly unacceptable” and said any attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law.

In some of his strongest comments yet against the war, the American pope urged Americans and other people of good will to contact their political leaders and congressional representatives to demand they reject war and work for peace.

“Today as we all know there was this threat against all the people of Iran. This is truly unacceptable,” Leo said as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

He was referring to Trump’s threat that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran fails to meet his latest deadline to strike a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

https://apnews.com/article/pope-leo-iran-trump-threat-unacceptable-332059536d7c4d6071c8f5abb35d8c8d

[malaise]

87. The best news is that the pope

Declined his invitation to the 250th

[mackdaddy]

88. Six of the current Nine Supreme Court Justices are Catholic.

May not be a group you want to piss off...

[Wednesdays]

104. How many of those six are Opus Dei?

Not a good idea to piss them off...for different reasons.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

89. Omg

[Kid Berwyn]

94. NAZI diplomacy, but not so classy.

He may not appreciate it, but Dimdonniedipshit truly is the opposite of anything good and the lowest of the low.

"I've met some bad people. Not one as bad as Trump. Not a decent cell in his entire body." -- Jeffrey Epstein to Ghislain Maxwell

[malthaussen]

97. I can't believe this. The Trump Administration doesn't know that much history. n/t

[KT2000]

100. I think trump just wants

the Vatican's stuff - especially the gold stuff.

[valleyrogue]

107. This is outrageously insane even for the Trump administration.

The entire administration should have been gone months ago.

Hell, it never should have been in there to begin with.

[aggiesal]

113. I believe that Mierda47 has secured a seat in hell. n/t