Why didn’t JD Vance respected the tradition by kissing the ring of Pope Leo XIV?

The meetings of JD Vance With the Popes they are not what to take below. Last month, the American vice -president was accused of having “killed” Pope Francis Today he is accused of bad conduct. The cause? A gesture deemed inappropriate during his meeting with the Dad Leo XIV during the papal settlement mass of 18 May. Instead of kissing the ring of the new pontiff, the right arm of Donald Trump He opted for a handshake, moving away from tradition.

The tradition, in fact, invites the faithful to lay a kiss on the papal jewel – the “fisherman ring” – as a sign of devotion. Although the kiss was eliminated by the protocol from Dad Francis Some religious continue the custom. Guest of the podcast Interesting times JD Vance explained his decision. «The protocol provides that American presidents and vice -presidents do not bow to foreign leaders and do not pelvis any ring. And of course, given our story, we can understand the reason, “said Vance. Born in an evangelical family, The Vice -President of the United States converted to Catholicism five years ago.

If on May 18 he had presented himself as a devoted Catholic, his greeting would have been different, he said. “I am here as a vice -president of the United States and head of the president’s delegation to the Pope’s inaugural mass. That’s why some of the protocols for the way I turn to the Holy Father are very different from how I could turn to the Holy Father, or how you could contact you to the Holy Father in your simple role of citizens”.

In 2019, the deceased Pope Francis He refused to allow the kiss of his fishing ring. In a video that circulated on social networks, the pontiff quickly removed his hands in front of the faithful ready to kiss the jewel. He said he refused to respect the protocol for hygiene reasons.