Confessions of a ‘secret source’ from the Vatican
A bit of a kerfuffle hit the news world this week, as a report in The Free Press claimed the Trump administration threatened the Holy See to support its military projects or face a new “Avignon Papacy” – the period from 1309 to 1376 when the popes ruled Rome from France.
This was alleged to have happened when the head of the U.S. Undersecretary of War, Elbridge Colby, met with Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Holy See’s nuncio (ambassador) to the U.S. at the time, on Jan. 22 at the Pentagon.
This report was based exclusively on unnamed “Vatican sources.”
The War Department issued a statement on X saying Colby “had a substantive, respectful, and professional meeting” with Pierre.
“During the cordial meeting, they discussed a range of topics, including issues of morality in foreign policy, the logic of the U.S. National Security Strategy, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and other topics. Cardinal Pierre expressed his appreciation for the outreach, and both sides looked forward to continued open and respectful dialogue,” the X post said on Thursday.
“In light of grossly false and distorted recent reporting, the Department of War repeats its statement: Recent reporting of the meeting is highly exaggerated and distorted. The meeting between Pentagon and Vatican officials was a respectful and reasonable discussion. We have nothing but the highest regard, and welcome continued dialogue with the Holy See,” the statement concluded.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni also denied the report in a statement Friday, saying that “As confirmed by His Eminence Christophe Pierre…his meeting with Mr. Elbridge Andrew Colby was part of the papal representative’s regular mission and provided the opportunity for an exchange of views on matters of mutual interest.”
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“The narrative offered by some media outlets about this meeting is completely untrue,” Bruni said.
But what about these “Vatican sources” cited in the stories? Are they wrong?
There are just under 5,000 people who work at the Holy See and the Vatican City State, the two distinct “governments” of the Vatican. However, neither is “The Vatican.”
There are also Pontifical Universities, Vatican-owned hospitals, and institutions located on territory which is extraterritorial property of the Holy See. For example, the Pontifical North American College, which trains men for the priesthood in the United States, is on the territory of the Holy See.
Even people outside of Rome can be affiliated with the Vatican: One of the most humorous stories after Pope Leo XIV’s election was seeing him on TV calling his brothers to tell them not to talk to the media.
Are any of these people “Vatican sources” for reporters?
I was a “Vatican source” when I worked at Vatican Radio, which I did for 15 years. Because I was “level 7” – it is too confusing to explain – I was often a “high-ranking Vatican source.” This included when I was drinking too much wine at a local bar.
The problem was that I was also a journalist. Journalists drink together, and shoot the breeze, trading jokes and opinions, and share their thoughts and opinions. Much of it, you don’t really know about. It was easy to forget that I was also a Vatican employee and therefore a “Vatican source.”
Actual high-ranking Vatican officials rarely speak on the record, especially if they haven’t already prepared what they are going to say. Officials often speak to reporters only if they can do so without their names being mentioned. If your editors don’t really have the skills to double-check your information – for example, you cover a sometimes-secretive religious institution in a foreign country – you can easily stretch your definition of a “Vatican source.”
As more details of this story in The Free Press come out, it seems the “source” doesn’t claim to have been at the meeting, so it was second-hand. None of the other unnamed sources that have emerged have claimed to have been there, either.
If the source was a “Vatican official”, was it an official of the Vatican City State, the Holy See, or a Vatican-affiliated university?
These are the questions I always ask, because sometimes that Vatican official was me.
If, way back in the early 2000s, you got the idea for a hot minute that Pope John Paul II was going to establish a special diocese for Polish Catholics in the UK, I’m sorry. I was shooting the breeze with someone I thought was just my colleague. I am pretty sure that one made the paper.
My memory is a little fuzzy, I admit, but I am pretty confident we did talk about other things, and I am sure the wine was good.
Follow Charles Collins on X: @CharlesinRome