This morning, Monday, May 19, 2025, Pope Leo XIV received in the Vatican the Vice President of the United States of America, James David Vance, accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Both Catholics, both leading figures in the most conservative wing of American politics. The meeting, as per diplomatic practice, took place in a climate defined as "cordial" by the Vatican statement. But those who stop at the statement miss the point.
Because on this occasion, photography – not words – tells the truth'
In the official photo taken at the Apostolic Library, the Holy Father appears in a thoughtful pose. He is at the center of the image, but not in a relational sense: his physical position is distant from the two interlocutors, and that distance seems intentional, even marked. Leo XIV is there, but he is not "with" them. He does not bow to the smiling and casual attitude of Vance and Rubio, who appear relaxed, even too much, compared to the solemn context. The Pope, on the other hand, has a serious face, a steady gaze. No complacent smile. No hasty gesture of openness.
In the second photo released today by the Vatican—and most likely intentionally circulated—it is not just a photograph. It is a statement. A warning. A lesson in spiritual leadership in a world where power likes to masquerade as virtue.
In Leo XIV the Church has a Pontiff who knows when to be silent and when to speak. And above all, he knows how to look into the eyes of those before him, without illusions, but with full awareness .
He is not an investigator, he is not an inquisitor. Rather, it is the sober and conscious gaze of someone who does not need to prove anything: he knows who he has in front of him, he knows what they represent, he knows that – probably – they are and will be the main challengers of the integral Christian vision that he intends to safeguard and propose.
To truly understand the meaning of this meeting, one must step outside the news and read the context. James Vance, considered by many to be the favorite candidate for the White House in 2028, embodies a form of "ideological Catholicism" that is increasingly widespread in the United States: traditionalist in customs, but ultra-liberal in economics; uncompromising on bioethics, but casual about the use of force and technology; ostentatiously religious, but deaf to the social doctrine of the Church.
Marco Rubio, for his part, is not a stranger to this approach. The two, together, represent an idea of a "patriotic Church", useful as a cultural tool, but fundamentally subordinate to the logic of political and economic power.
Pope Francis, in the past, had chosen the path of emotional openness: he trusted, he exposed himself, he put his humanity into play. Leo XIV, instead, chose another path: that of analytical discernment, of silent vigilance . He is a man of method, trained in the ganglia of diplomacy and episcopal appointments, accustomed to reading scenarios and recognizing patterns. And, in this case, his message was not entrusted to words, but to posture.
It is no mere detail that this meeting took place a few hours after the speech addressed to the representatives of the world's religions, in which the Pope firmly reiterated the need to say "no" to war and "yes" to peace, "no" to the arms race and " " to disarmament, "no" to an economy that impoverishes and "yes" to integral development.
These are words that resonate today as a clear warning, almost an anticipated response to the ideology that Vance and Rubio bring with them. "Integral development" is a term that weighs like a stone: it means a fair economy, dignity of work, care for creation, defense of the poor. All elements that are foreign to or even opposed by the doctrine of "MAGA Catholicism" that has found new champions in the USA.
Added to this is another front that Leo XIV opened right away: artificial intelligence . His references to the topic, already the subject of interventions and perhaps soon of an encyclical, are not coincidental. The Pontiff knows that the new ideological powers move right there, on the platforms, in the opaque mechanisms that shape consciences and markets. And it is a fact that Vance has declared relationships with the circles that hold control of these tools.
The Pope does not accuse, does not denounce. But he looks. He observes. And, in that silence, he launches his strongest message.
It is not just a matter of diplomatic prudence. But a precise choice of pontifical style . Leo XIV is not a media Pope. He does not seek the crowds. He does not need theatrical gestures. He is a Pope who listens, who weighs every word, every signal. And today, with that serious and distant face, he has chosen to show the boundary between the Church and power . Not to close doors, but to remember that not everything is negotiable. That the Church is not an ideological shore for anyone. And that the Gospel cannot be bent to the convenience of any apparatus, neither political nor economic.
Marco Baratto
Because on this occasion, photography – not words – tells the truth'
In the official photo taken at the Apostolic Library, the Holy Father appears in a thoughtful pose. He is at the center of the image, but not in a relational sense: his physical position is distant from the two interlocutors, and that distance seems intentional, even marked. Leo XIV is there, but he is not "with" them. He does not bow to the smiling and casual attitude of Vance and Rubio, who appear relaxed, even too much, compared to the solemn context. The Pope, on the other hand, has a serious face, a steady gaze. No complacent smile. No hasty gesture of openness.
In the second photo released today by the Vatican—and most likely intentionally circulated—it is not just a photograph. It is a statement. A warning. A lesson in spiritual leadership in a world where power likes to masquerade as virtue.
In Leo XIV the Church has a Pontiff who knows when to be silent and when to speak. And above all, he knows how to look into the eyes of those before him, without illusions, but with full awareness .
He is not an investigator, he is not an inquisitor. Rather, it is the sober and conscious gaze of someone who does not need to prove anything: he knows who he has in front of him, he knows what they represent, he knows that – probably – they are and will be the main challengers of the integral Christian vision that he intends to safeguard and propose.
To truly understand the meaning of this meeting, one must step outside the news and read the context. James Vance, considered by many to be the favorite candidate for the White House in 2028, embodies a form of "ideological Catholicism" that is increasingly widespread in the United States: traditionalist in customs, but ultra-liberal in economics; uncompromising on bioethics, but casual about the use of force and technology; ostentatiously religious, but deaf to the social doctrine of the Church.
Marco Rubio, for his part, is not a stranger to this approach. The two, together, represent an idea of a "patriotic Church", useful as a cultural tool, but fundamentally subordinate to the logic of political and economic power.
Pope Francis, in the past, had chosen the path of emotional openness: he trusted, he exposed himself, he put his humanity into play. Leo XIV, instead, chose another path: that of analytical discernment, of silent vigilance . He is a man of method, trained in the ganglia of diplomacy and episcopal appointments, accustomed to reading scenarios and recognizing patterns. And, in this case, his message was not entrusted to words, but to posture.
It is no mere detail that this meeting took place a few hours after the speech addressed to the representatives of the world's religions, in which the Pope firmly reiterated the need to say "no" to war and "yes" to peace, "no" to the arms race and " " to disarmament, "no" to an economy that impoverishes and "yes" to integral development.
These are words that resonate today as a clear warning, almost an anticipated response to the ideology that Vance and Rubio bring with them. "Integral development" is a term that weighs like a stone: it means a fair economy, dignity of work, care for creation, defense of the poor. All elements that are foreign to or even opposed by the doctrine of "MAGA Catholicism" that has found new champions in the USA.
Added to this is another front that Leo XIV opened right away: artificial intelligence . His references to the topic, already the subject of interventions and perhaps soon of an encyclical, are not coincidental. The Pontiff knows that the new ideological powers move right there, on the platforms, in the opaque mechanisms that shape consciences and markets. And it is a fact that Vance has declared relationships with the circles that hold control of these tools.
The Pope does not accuse, does not denounce. But he looks. He observes. And, in that silence, he launches his strongest message.
It is not just a matter of diplomatic prudence. But a precise choice of pontifical style . Leo XIV is not a media Pope. He does not seek the crowds. He does not need theatrical gestures. He is a Pope who listens, who weighs every word, every signal. And today, with that serious and distant face, he has chosen to show the boundary between the Church and power . Not to close doors, but to remember that not everything is negotiable. That the Church is not an ideological shore for anyone. And that the Gospel cannot be bent to the convenience of any apparatus, neither political nor economic.
Marco Baratto
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