Responding to questions by journalists on the sidelines of a book presentation, Cardinal Pietro Parolin shares what he would say if face-to-face with U.S. President Trump: “Put an end to it as soon as possible because the real danger is that an escalation is just around the corner.”
By Salvatore Cernuzio and Tiziana Campisi, Reposted from Vatican News, March 18, 2026
On the sidelines of the presentation at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome of the book Leo XIV: Who Do You Say I Am? I Am a Son of Saint Augustine—published by Cantagalli and written by Vatican journalist Ignazio Ingrao and Augustinian Father Giuseppe Pagano—Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin responded to journalists’ questions about the international situation.
He shared what he would say if he were face to face with U.S. President Donald Trump. The cardinal would tell him “to put an end to it as soon as possible, because the real danger is that an escalation is just around the corner. I would say: leave Lebanon alone…”
The same message, the Secretary of State said, should also be “addressed to the Israelis,” so that they truly seek to “resolve any problems that may exist—or that they believe exist—through the peaceful paths of diplomacy and dialogue.”
Speaking about Pope Leo, Cardinal Parolin also responded to questions about what it is like to work alongside the first pontiff in history from the United States. “It is very easy,” he explained. “There is good dialogue, a fruitful exchange. He listens a great deal, and there is a good relationship.”
Salvatore Cernuzio is a Vatican journalist and the author of, “The Veil of Silence: Abuses, Violence and Frustrations in Women’s Religious Life” (St. Paul, 2021). Tiziana Merletti SFP is an Italian religious sister who serves as Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life since her appointment on 22 May 2025 by Pope Leo XIV.
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