Vice President JD Vance revealed previously unpublished details about his relationship with the Vatican and his differences with the Catholic hierarchy over migration, politics and faith in his new book Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, published this week. The work, focused on his conversion to Catholicism and his return to faith, includes an account of the visit he made to the Vatican during Easter 2025, just hours before the death of Pope Francis.

In the text, Vance describes as “disturbing” a meeting held with senior officials of the Holy See, due to what he considered a lack of clarity regarding the Church's criticism of the immigration policies of President Donald Trump's administration.

According to the vice president, during the meeting the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, reiterated the need to treat migrants humanely, although he recognized the right of the United States to control its borders. However, Vance maintained that Church representatives avoided specifying which specific immigration measures they considered problematic.

“There I was, the highest-ranking Catholic within the United States Government, and the Vatican seemed reluctant to take its moral guidance beyond commonplaces,” the vice president wrote in one of the passages highlighted by American media.

A meeting marked by the health of the pontiff

The book also offers details of the brief meeting that Vance had with Pope Francis on Easter Sunday 2025. The pontiff, whose health was seriously deteriorating, had canceled several previous engagements, although he finally agreed to receive the American vice president for a few minutes.

Vance relates that he found the leader of the Catholic Church “more fragile” than he expected. Even so, he highlighted the cordiality of the meeting and recalled that Francisco gave him some gifts for his children.

Less than 24 hours after that meeting, the Pope died at the Vatican, making Vance one of the last international officials to see him alive. “We had different responsibilities, but I preferred his direct comments to the vagueness I encountered during my meetings with other Vatican officials,” the vice president wrote.

Faith, politics and future aspirations

In addition to addressing his religious experience, Communion includes reflections on issues that have marked his political career, including abortion, family, and contemporary American culture. Vance acknowledges in the book that some controversial statements made during previous campaigns were errors, including his reference to so-called “childless women and cat lovers,” a comment that generated strong criticism during the 2024 electoral process.

The vice president also proposes a conservative vision focused on strengthening families through public policies that facilitate the raising of children, arguing that the debate on abortion should include economic and social support for mothers.

The publication comes at a key moment for Vance, considered by political analysts as one of the main Republican candidates for the 2028 presidential elections. His name usually appears next to that of the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, as a possible relief figure within the political movement led by Trump.

Throughout the book, Vance also highlights the role of his wife, Usha Vance, whom he credits with pushing him to rediscover the Catholic faith and reflect on personal aspects that, he claims, ended up influencing his political career and his vision of the country's future.

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