For American Catholics, It's a Big Vatican Meeting

A meeting at the Vatican on Monday featured what the New York Times calls "America's two most high-profile Catholics"—Pope Leo XIV and Vice President JD Vance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was raised Catholic, also attended. In their stories about the meeting, both the Times and the Washington Post use the word "reset" to suggest a possible shift in US-Vatican relations.

• The late Pope Francis frequently criticized President Trump's policies, particularly on immigration, and Leo appears to be in sync with Francis. (A post under his name before he became pope even called out Vance.) However, Leo has been emphasizing unity in his early days as pope, per the Times, while the US has been pushing various peace initiatives of which he approves, notes the Post.

• An official readout from the Vatican after the meeting suggested at least some disagreements in a read-between-the-lines way, referencing "an exchange of views on some current international issues," per the BBC. But the statement used the word "cordial" to describe things.
• Vatican photos of the pope with Vance and his wife, Usha, suggest that they gave Leo a Chicago Bears jersey emblazoned with "Pope Leo XIV," notes the Catholic News Agency. The pope is a Chicago native.

(More Pope Leo XIV stories.)