The US ambassador’s diplomatic skirmish at the Vatican

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Jul 21, 2026

Hon. Brian Burch, the US ambassador to the Holy See, scored a diplomatic coup when he hosted a Fourth of July dinner party with Pope Leo XIV as his guest. But in the aftermath of the event he prompted criticism—some of it deserved—when he sought to minimize the political differences between Washington and Rome.

First the good news. By all accounts the dinner was extremely friendly, relaxed, and festive. The Pope posed for a photo with the Burch family, signed baseballs, and joined in singing “God Bless America.”

What does one serve the Sovereign Pontiff when he drops in on Independence Day? The standard etiquette books are silent on the subject. An EWTN account said that the Burches opted for “American charcuterie, watermelon salad, Chicago-style hot dogs, apple pie, and gelato.”

Gelato? On the Fourth of July? Somehow that sounds wrong—as does the report that they shared an “aperitif” before the meal. America magazine reported that the dessert was good old American ice cream. But then America says that the pie was blueberry: a solid choice, no doubt, but one that lacks the iconic status of apple pie. So we are left to debate the menu choices.

A more important debate erupted, however, when Burch told reporters: “The Pope’s relationship with the United States and with the president has been exploited as if it were a massive conflict.” Doing his job as ambassador, he downplayed the much-discussed public disagreements on the war in Iran and the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

On Iran, for instance, Burch contended: “The Vatican has not said, nor will they say, declare definitively whether or not this is a just or unjust war.” That claim sits uneasily with Pope Leo’s statement on June 6: “The criteria for a just war are not present.”

The ambassador compounded the problem when he told told the New York Times that when the Pontiff spoke about the war in Iran, he “was not doing so as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the Vicar of Christ.” He strayed even further with an effort to explain: “When the Pope acts as the sovereign leader of the Holy See, he is coequal with world leaders.”

That strained interpretation of the Pope’s role as world leader drew a rebuke from the Vatican, in the form of an editorial by Andrea Tornielli, the editorial director of the Dicastery for Communications. In a piece posted on the Vatican News service, Tornielli never mentioned Burch by name, but clearly had the US envoy in mind when he insisted: “Even when he speaks about war and peace, migration or how to remain human in the age of artificial intelligence, the Successor of Peter remains, above all, a spiritual leader.” He continued:

Any glorification or exaggeration of the Pope’s role as head of state, any emphasis on the importance of this role, is therefore misleading because it comes at the expense of his one true mission as universal shepherd.

Tornielli acknowledged that the Pontiff is the head of the tiny Vatican city-state, but stressed that “does not mean that he acts or speaks as a politician when addressing issues concerning the affairs of humanity.” In all the Pope’s public statements, the Vatican spokesman concluded, “He is simply proclaiming the Gospel.”

But here it is Tornielli who overstates his case, because when he speaks on political affairs the Pope is not “simply” proclaiming the Gospel; he is applying the message of the Gospel to concrete situations, which demand political judgments. As Vicar of Christ he speaks with authority on matters of moral principle, but his practical political judgments are not infallible.

Moreover, as I have argued recently, the outsized influence of the Vatican Secretariat of State often results in public stands that seem to emphasize worldly rather than spiritual concerns, diluting the proper authority of the Holy See.

Ambassador Burch approached that point obliquely, gently calling attention to the Vatican’s silence in the face of human-rights violations by the Chinese Communist regime. “The Vatican has felt very comfortable reminding the United States of its moral obligations,” he said. “And certainly we would welcome the Holy Father to be very public and forthright about the obligations that China has to its own people.”

So both Burch and Tornielli scored points, and the tensions between the Holy See and the Trump administration—which are real, although not a “massive conflict”—were illustrated once again. But on balance, Burch could count the July 4 dinner as a success. Political differences aside, the event demonstrated that the Pope can and will welcome friendly exchanges with the Trump team. In his dealings with the first-ever American Pontiff, Ambassador Burch recognizes a unique advantage: “He understands us intuitively, and this, I believe, creates a real moment, an extraordinary moment of opportunity.”