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muriel_volestrangler

(106,517 posts)
7. The Pentagon Threatened Pope Leo XIV's Ambassador With the Avignon Papacy
Thu Apr 9, 2026, 08:00 AM
Apr 9
[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.]

...
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.
...
What enraged them most was Leo’s declaration that “a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force.”

The Pentagon read that sentence as a frontal challenge to the so-called “Donroe Doctrine” — Trump’s update of Monroe, asserting unchallenged American dominion over the Western Hemisphere.

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

Recommendations

7 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

The US military threatening to kill or caputre you, is not a welcoming sign. Irish_Dem Apr 9 #1
Trump's veiled threat is all the more reason Pope Leo should visit the U.S. sop Apr 9 #2
trump is impressed by crowd size rampartd Apr 9 #3
That was amazing. NT Tom Dyer Apr 9 #6
Unless he doesn't feel safe here? displacedvermoter Apr 9 #9
would trump put a tomohawk through the roof of the Sistine chapel to get leo? rampartd Apr 9 #11
There are very crazy Latin Massers who displacedvermoter Apr 9 #13
Silly people, we all know that Chump is the real Anti-Christ FakeNoose Apr 9 #18
in the heat of actual armed conflict rampartd Apr 9 #22
Would the Pope Mobile fit in the Oval Office? Bayard Apr 9 #28
Yes, let's give the icestapo easy, large hunting grounds. We are not niyad Apr 9 #15
So Leo should capitulate, bow to krasnov? Because that is exactly what niyad Apr 9 #14
Strongly disagree. ananda Apr 9 #27
Come to the US and snub MFer. Don't go to DC, NYC, Miami. maxsolomon Apr 9 #29
Wait... Why are you dissing NYC? Plenty of Hispanics, Latinos, and Mexicans live here. electric_blue68 Apr 9 #33
Because Trump lives there. Or did. Melania lives there. maxsolomon Apr 10 #36
Uhh...so? NYC is a more Democratic blue city.... electric_blue68 Apr 11 #37
tRump and company using the Pope distration with outrage as goal FarPoint Apr 9 #4
PLEO OhioBack2Blue Apr 9 #5
Any statement the Pope makes will be of a religious and non-political nature FakeNoose Apr 9 #19
The Pentagon Threatened Pope Leo XIV's Ambassador With the Avignon Papacy muriel_volestrangler Apr 9 #7
"reached for a 14th century weapon. ." my heart almost stopped. Surely niyad Apr 9 #16
"The Pentagon requesting a meeting with a Vatican official is "unprecedented," according to the report." Prairie Gates Apr 9 #8
Remember that DOD is now headed by a faux Christian zealot BumRushDaShow Apr 9 #10
the pope will not meet trump because rampartd Apr 9 #12
It will be interesting to see if there is a split in the church JBTaurus83 Apr 9 #17
It's the Opus Dei faction that has caused most of the trouble FakeNoose Apr 9 #20
I agree. JBTaurus83 Apr 9 #23
I believe Francis already started efforts against Opus Dei displacedvermoter Apr 9 #24
Maybe you saw this posted on DU the other day? FakeNoose Apr 9 #25
National Catholic Reporter 6/25 displacedvermoter Apr 9 #26
It would be in the best interest of the Church JBTaurus83 Apr 9 #31
There always has been a split in the Catholic Church BumRushDaShow Apr 9 #21
Ah! Well... soon, ta ta, Cardinal Dolan! electric_blue68 Apr 9 #34
Any assurances that Trump makes would be meaningless bmichaelh Apr 9 #30
I hope the King of England cancels his visit also ! kimbutgar Apr 9 #32
I am still reeling over that report. valleyrogue Apr 9 #35
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