Crux

Diplomacy between nations is often like being on the dance floor – you try to watch your step, and you don’t always know what the other person is thinking. That came to mind after an accusation that a mosh-up took place between the Trump administration and Pope Leo’s officials on Jan 22 in the Pentagon, although both sides strongly denied it and rejected the characterization. If you want to know what kind of dance the U.S. and the Holy See are doing, the semi-official response to sensational reports about the January meeting between Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby and then-Apostolic Nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre offers a crucial one-word key. The interesting word was “frank” – it is a word not often used by the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, which usually sticks with “cordial” by itself. So, what happened, and why is it so telling? U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch said on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he spoke with Christophe Pierre about the meeting. “As expected, [Pierre] confirmed that recent media characterizations of his meeting with Undersecretary Colby are ‘fabrications’ that were ‘just invented.’ Given the intelligence and seriousness of Mr. Colby, I was likewise not surprised when His Eminence acknowledged there were no threats of any kind in the meeting,” Burch wrote. Then, Burch quoted Pierre as saying, “It was a frank and cordial meeting that took place two months ago.” This was a conversation between a retired diplomat and an ambassador to the Vatican, not an official statement from the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, which is usually very careful in its wording (and as boring as that makes it sound). The word “frank” can have several meanings in a dialogue, including conveying important but uncomfortable information plainly, while at the same time being sincere. Pope Leo XIV has spoken strongly against the ongoing war in the Middle East, although that is not surprising – every pope since the 20th century has opposed wars in the Middle East. There’s an old saying in the Western United States: If a gunman is holding people hostage in a church, the pastor’s job is to tell the sheriff to make sure the situation ends peacefully, and to see no one gets hurt; the sheriff’s job is to shoot the sumbitch. Everyone plays their role in the performance, just like in a Japanese kabuki dance. It’s not news if a pope says “No” to war; it would be news if a pope approves of one. Yet it seems the meeting between Pierre and Colby didn’t just follow the usual kabuki dance. After World War II, the Vatican played a different kind of dance militarily with the United States – it wasn’t kabuki, it was more of a tango. The Cold War brought a “Christian West” against an “Atheistic East,” so the romance certainly took place, and the Holy See was seen as the chaplain of NATO by both sides. However, the “forbidden love” angle of a tango is also at play. Popes have strongly opposed the use – and proliferation – of atomic weapons, and see the threat of a nuclear conflict as changing “just war” theory. In the 1960s, the Vatican also adopted an Ostpolitik approach toward anti-Christian leaders. As my colleague Christopher Altieri recently noted, Pope St. John Paul II learned how to take the tango steps. He quietly supported the U.S. and NATO in the Cold War, but opposed them in widening conflicts in the Middle East. John Paul II held that all war is bad and should be avoided if at all possible, but some wars are evil and must not be fought. RELATED: Were Leo XIV’s remarks at peace vigil meant for Trump? Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the pontiffs have strongly opposed the subsequent conflicts conducted by the United States around the world. For the most part, U.S. presidents have ignored these protests – just following the kabuki steps. Pope Leo XIV is the first U.S. pope, and one with broad international experience. No longer can Catholics in America claim that the Vatican “just can’t understand” their country. RELATED: U.S.-born pope picked the name of the pontiff who condemned ‘Americanism’ For whatever reason – a cynic might see it as Donald Trump’s need for devotion from all sides; a more optimistic person might see the influence of high-ranking Catholics in his administration – the Trump administration seems to want to engage with the Vatican; after all, nuncios do not usually get invited to the Pentagon. Aside from the traditional “Catholic issues” of abortion and immigration, Pope Leo has turned his eyes to the new problems facing the 21st century, such as Artificial Intelligence and medical advances, that have complicated moral issues to attend to. It would be good if the U.S. administration and the U.S.-born pope accepted the dance sheet given to them. But a kabuki choreography can’t be “frank.” The tango can be forthright and sincere, while still keeping what it needs to itself. Unfortunately, while it is beautiful to watch, the tango is also the hardest to learn. Follow Charles Collins on X: @CharlesinRome

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