ROME (AP) 鈥� U.S. Vice President JD Vance met with in Rome on Friday for a second day of talks on tariffs and then attended Good Friday services at the Vatican amid speculation of a possible pope greeting this weekend.
鈥淚鈥檝e been missing you,鈥� Meloni jokingly told Vance as he entered the courtyard of Chigi Palace, the premier's office.
They had seen each other just the previous day in the Oval Office, where Trump lavished praise on the Italian leader for her but didn't yield on tariff plans that have increased tensions with the European Union and stoked fears of recession.
The White House and Meloni's office on Friday issued a joint statement that said Trump would visit Italy 鈥渋n the very near future.鈥�
"There is also consideration to hold, on such occasion, a meeting between U.S. and Europe,鈥� the statement said.
Vance having Vatican meetings after tangle with pope
Vance, a Catholic convert, later attended Good Friday services with his wife and three children in St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica and was scheduled to meet Saturday with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
No meeting with Pope Francis was officially announced and the pontiff didn鈥檛 attend the solemn, two-hour Good Friday service or the nighttime Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum. The 88-year-old pope has schedule as he recovers from a near-fatal case of double pneumonia, and his participation in the weekend鈥檚 Easter services is uncertain.
Francis, however, recently met with King Charles III and officials haven鈥檛 ruled out a possible audience with Vance, who has criticized Francis on social media in the past, though more recently offered prayers for his recovery.
Francis and Vance have and the Trump administration鈥檚 plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis has made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy and his progressive views on social justice issues have often put him at odds with members of the more conservative U.S. Catholic Church.
Just days before he was hospitalized in February, Francis blasted the Trump administration鈥檚 deportation plans, warning that they would deprive migrants of their inherent dignity. In a letter to U.S. bishops, Francis also appeared to respond to Vance directly for having such policies.
Vance had defended the administration鈥檚 America-first crackdown by citing a concept from medieval Catholic theology known in Latin as 鈥渙rdo amoris.鈥� He has said the concept delineates a hierarchy of care 鈥� to family first, followed by neighbor, community, fellow citizens and lastly those elsewhere.
In his Feb. 10 letter, Francis appeared to correct Vance鈥檚 understanding of the concept.
鈥淐hristian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extends to other persons and groups,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淭he true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the 鈥楪ood Samaritan,鈥� that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.鈥�
Vance has but has said he would continue to defend his views.
鈥淚鈥檓 grateful every day for this job, but particularly today where my official duties have brought me to Rome on Good Friday,鈥� Vance posted on X. 鈥淚 wish all Christians all over the world, but particularly those back home in the US, a blessed Good Friday.鈥�
Good Friday commemorates Christ鈥檚 crucifixion and is marked by the Vatican with a Latin-filled service in St. Peter鈥檚 and a nighttime, torchlit procession at the Colosseum.
Meloni as a bridge between the US and EU
Meloni has positioned herself as a bridge between the Trump administration and Europe and was the lone EU leader to attend his inauguration. As the head of a far-right party, she is ideologically aligned with Trump on issues such as curbing migration and promoting traditional values. But Italy and the United States have diverged over , while Trump's tariff threat has put pressure on Meloni to defend the EU's trade interests on behalf of the bloc.
A bond market panic led Trump to by pausing his 20% import taxes on the EU for 90 days and charge a baseline 10% instead. But Trump said Thursday he was in no rush to reach any trade deals.
Vance on Friday reaffirmed the U.S.-Italy friendship and told Meloni that he would brief her on some 鈥渋nteresting鈥� developments in Russia-Ukraine negotiations. 鈥淏ig trade negotiations鈥� would continue, he said.
Like Trump, Vance seemed dazzled by Meloni's Italian language even though he didn't understand what she was saying.
鈥淥f course, she could have called me a jerk and I wouldn鈥檛 know, but it would be in the most beautiful language imaginable, so I wouldn鈥檛 even get offended,鈥� he said at the start of their talks.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press
