Nuncio’s Pentagon meeting was ‘frank exchange of ideas,’ officials say
April 10, 2026
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CWN Editor's Note: Officials from the Vatican and the Pentagon dismissed a report that Elbridge Colby, the U.S. Under Secretary of War for Policy, issued a threat to Cardinal Christophe Pierre, then the apostolic nuncio to the United States, during a January meeting.
A Vatican official said the meeting was “tense” and at times “aggressive,” but there was “no question of anyone threatening anyone.”
Likewise, a senior Defense Department official said, “Under Secretary Colby’s meeting with Cardinal Pierre was a productive, cordial meeting, and a chance for real dialogue on serious issues. They had an honest and respectful conversation. Reporting about threats or disrespect is false and scurrilous.”
Brian Burch, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, said that Cardinal Pierre “confirmed that recent media characterizations of his meeting with Undersecretary Colby are ‘fabrications’ that were ‘just invented.’”
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