1. United States
2. Wyo.
3. Letter

I need you to publicly condemn Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby's threats against the Catholic Church and demand accountability for this unprecedented attack on religious freedom. Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre to the Pentagon and told him "The United States has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side." A U.S. official at that meeting referenced the Avignon papacy, when France used force to relocate the Pope from Rome. The Vatican interpreted this as a military threat against the Holy See. Pope Leo XIV cancelled his U.S. visit and rejected the White House's invitation to celebrate America's 250th anniversary because of this intimidation. This is not diplomacy. This is thuggery. Threatening a religious leader for criticizing our military policies violates everything America claims to stand for. Pope Leo simply said that "war is back in vogue" and called for dialogue over force. That observation should not trigger threats from Pentagon officials. Colby must be removed from his position immediately, and Congress needs to investigate who authorized this meeting and what other threats were made.