Vatican and Pentagon Deny ‘Reprimand’ Report as Pope Presses for Cease-fire and Civilian Protection

Overview

• Pope Leão XIV, speaking after Sunday’s Regina Caeli prayer in St. Peter’s Square, urged a cease-fire in Lebanon and called protecting civilians a moral duty.
• The Vatican and the U.S. Defense Department rejected The Free Press account that a Pentagon official scolded the Holy See’s envoy, describing the January encounter as a respectful discussion.
• Officials identified the meeting as between Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s policy chief, and Cardinal Christophe Pierre, then the papal nuncio in Washington, who has since retired.
• The Pope has rebuked efforts to justify the war with religious language, posting that “God does not bless any conflict” and warning at a Saturday vigil that faith is being dragged into “discourses of death.”
• President Trump criticized the Pope on Truth Social, calling him weak and political, even as U.S. and Vatican statements emphasize ongoing dialogue and as U.S.–Iran talks open in Pakistan.