Pope names Vatican diplomat as US ambassador to handle relations with Trump | EUROtoday

Pope Leo XIV has appointed a seasoned Vatican diplomat, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, as the brand new ambassador to the United States.

This transfer comes because the Holy See seeks to navigate an important bilateral relationship, which has confronted challenges beneath the Trump administration, significantly regarding its stance on Iran and immigration insurance policies.

Archbishop Caccia, 68, presently serves because the Holy See’s consultant to the United Nations in New York. He takes over from French-born Cardinal Christophe Pierre, 80, who’s retiring from his function as apostolic nuncio in Washington.

Before his UN posting in 2019, Caccia held ambassadorial positions in Lebanon and the Philippines.

Ordained a priest in Milan in 1983, he additionally served as an “assessor” inside the Vatican secretariat of state, a big administrative function.

He inherits a sophisticated and consequential file on each the U.S. church and state fronts.

Pierre’s tenure as ambassador was notable for clear indicators of friction between the management of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which tends to skew conservative, and the extra progressive priorities of Pope Francis’ hold forth.

The relationship with the U.S. and its church is essential for the Holy See, not least as a result of U.S. Catholics are probably the most beneficiant donors to the Holy See’s coffers.

Leo, historical past’s first U.S.-born pope, is properly conscious of the dynamic, having served as Francis’ level man on bishop nominations for 2 years earlier than his 2025 election. Leo has emphasised a message of pacification and unity within the church.

The first Trump administration clashed with Francis particularly on migration, and that pressure has continued in Leo’s hold forth and the second Trump time period. Leo has repeatedly insisted that the Trump administration respect the human dignity of migrants, whereas acknowledging its proper to its borders.

More just lately, Leo has expressed “profound concern” concerning the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran and urged either side to “stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”

In feedback final Sunday, Leo referred to as for the resumption of diplomacy. Weapons, he stated, solely sow “destruction, pain and death.”

In a significant international coverage speech earlier this yr, Leo additionally made clear he opposed the U.S. aggressive use of army energy, in an obvious reference to Washington’s incursion in Venezuela and threats to take Greenland. He denounced how nations have been utilizing drive to claim their dominion worldwide and “completely undermine” peace and the post-World War II worldwide authorized order.

The Holy See has a practice of diplomatic neutrality, although Leo has spoken out strongly towards the humanitarian toll of Israel’s army motion in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The present president of the U.S. convention, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, welcomed Caccia’s appointment and supplied the U.S. hierarchy’s “warmest welcome and our prayerful support.”