VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Saturday (Jan. 3) may have ended one crisis for the Holy See and opened another, testing the Vatican’s long-standing defense of national sovereignty in an increasingly volatile global order.
As cardinals from around the world gather in Rome for their first major meeting since electing Pope Leo XIV — a consistory meant to address pressing church matters — mounting geopolitical tensions are expected to feature prominently in formal and informal conversations. While the Vatican’s tensions with the Venezuelan government, which began under Pope Francis and continued in recent months under Leo, are seemingly halted after Maduro’s removal from office, now the Holy See must consider concern for Venezuelan Catholics and the U.S.’ escalating actions and impact beyond Venezuela in any response.
“What has happened has created a precedent that scares the hell out of those cardinals who are in other countries where they might be invaded by Russia or invaded by China,” said Massimo Faggioli, a Vatican commentator and professor in ecclesiology at Trinity College in Dublin.
President Donald Trump has already threatened military action in other countries, with Cub …