JD Vance visits Italy's tariff talks, Good Friday service in Vatican – Country
U.S. Vice President JD Vance met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Friday, held talks on tariffs the next day, and then could greet possible Popes this weekend, attending the Vatican Good Friday service.
“I've always missed you,” Meloni told Vance jokingly when she entered the Prime Minister's office, Chigi Palace.
They saw each other in the Oval Office the day before, where Trump praised the Italian leader's crackdown on immigration, but failed to succumb to tariff plans that created EU tensions and sparked fears of the recession.
The White House and Meloni's office issued a joint statement Friday saying Trump will visit Italy in the near future.
“In this case, there are also considerations to hold a meeting between us and Europe,” the statement said.
Catholic convert Ivans later attended Good Friday services with his wife and three children at St. Peter's Basilica and planned to meet with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin on Saturday.
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The meeting with Pope Francis was not officially announced, and the Pope did not attend the solemn and two hours of good Friday service chaired by the Vatican Cardinal. The 88-year-old pope recovered from a near-fatal case of double pneumonia, but drastically reduced his work schedule and his attendance at the weekend's Easter service is uncertain.
However, Francis recently met with King Charles III, and officials did not rule out possible listeners with Vance, who had criticized Francis on social media in the past, despite recent prayers for his recovery.
Francis and Vance are struggling with immigration and the Trump administration's plans to deport immigrants in large numbers. Francis' concern about immigration was a hallmark of his pope, and his progressive view of social justice often led him to conflict with more conservative American Catholic Church members.
Francis exploded the Trump administration's deportation program a few days before his hospitalization in February, warning them that they would deprive immigrants of their inherent dignity. In a letter to the American Bishop, Francis also seemed to respond directly to Vance because he claimed that Catholic teaching justified such a policy.
Vance defended the first government repression by invoking a concept of medieval Catholic theology as “Ordo Amoris.” The concept portrays a level of care hierarchy—first by family, second by neighbors, community, compatriots, and finally elsewhere, he said.
Francis seemed to correct Vance's understanding of the concept in his February 10 letter.
“Christian love is not an expansion of unqualified extension to the concentric interests of other people and groups,” he wrote. “The true Ordo Amoris that must be promoted is something we discover through constant meditation on the allegorical part of the Good Samaritan, that is, through meditation, the love of establishing a brotherly love open to all, without exception.”
Vance acknowledged Francis’ criticism but said he would continue to defend his views.
Vance posted on X on X: “I thank you every day for this work, but especially today, my official duties have brought me to Rome. I hope all Christians around the world, especially those returning to America, will be a blessing of Good Friday.”
Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Christ and marks the Latin service of St. Peter's Basilica, a Torchlit parade in the Roman Mountains at night.
Meloni positioned himself as a bridge between the Trump administration and Europe and was the only EU leader to attend the inauguration. As the head of a far-right party, she is ideologically aligned with Trump on issues such as curbing immigration and promoting traditional values. But Italy and the United States differ in Meloni's strong support for Ukraine, and Trump's tariff threats put pressure on Meloni to defend the EU's trade interests on behalf of the group.
The panic in the bond market sent Trump suspending his 20% import tax in the EU for 90 days and charging a 10% tax rate to the benchmark, causing Trump to partially back his tariffs. But Trump said Thursday he is not in a hurry to reach any trade deal.
Vance reiterated the friendship of the United States on Friday and told Meloni that he would introduce her to some “interesting” developments in the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. He said the “large-scale trade negotiations” will continue.
Like Trump, Vance also seemed to be dazzled by Meloni's Italian language, even though he didn't understand what she was saying.
He said: “Of course she could have called me a bastard, I don't know, but it's the most beautiful language imaginable, so I'm not even offended.”
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
