reported<\/a> that Elbridge A. Colby, the Defense Department\u2019s undersecretary for policy, held a contentious meeting with Pierre this past January where he subjected the prelate to a \u201cbitter lecture warning that the United States has the military power to do whatever it wants \u2014 and that the Church had better take its side.\u201d The report further alleged that a Pentagon official went as far as to invoke the Avignon Papacy of the 14th-century, during which King Philip IV of France forced the papacy, through the military, to reside in Avignon rather than Rome for 67 years.<\/p>\nIn a statement on X released Thursday, Ambassador Brian Burch said that Cardinal Pierre confirmed no such threats were made during the meeting in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pleased to speak today with His Eminence, Cardinal Christophe\u00a0Pierre. As expected, he confirmed that recent media characterizations of his meeting with Undersecretary Colby are \u2018fabrications\u2019 that were \u2018just invented,’\u201d said Burch.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the intelligence and seriousness of Mr. Colby, I was likewise not surprised when His Eminence acknowledged there were no threats of any kind in the meeting. \u2018It was a frank and cordial meeting that took place two months ago.\u2019 Threat\u00a0of Avignon? \u2018None,’\u201d added Burch.<\/p>\n
\u201cCardinal Pierre has been a regular interlocutor since my nomination. When we disagree, we have done so with sincerity and respect,\u201d he concluded. \u201cI believe the same could be said of his January meeting with Undersecretary Colby. It\u2019s regrettable that some journalists and online agitators chose to exploit a routine meeting to sow division between the Holy See and the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n