Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling to the Vatican on Thursday for a closed-door meeting with Pope Leo, a diplomatic mission aimed at mending relations between Washington and the Holy See at a moment of sharp public conflict between the pontiff and President Donald Trump.
The encounter will mark the first direct dialogue between the head of the Catholic Church and a Trump cabinet official in nearly a year. Vatican officials have signaled the discussion will be substantive. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's second-ranking official, told journalists that Rubio and Leo should expect a frank conversation, while the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, acknowledged Tuesday that tensions run deep.
Rubio, a practicing Catholic, acknowledged the visit follows weeks of escalating tension. When asked by reporters whether he was traveling to "smooth things over," he replied that the trip had been scheduled beforehand but conceded "obviously we had some stuff that happened." He flagged humanitarian aid for Cuba and global religious freedom concerns as topics for discussion.
The friction stems from Pope Leo's public criticism of Trump's position on Iran. The president has launched a sustained attack on the pontiff, calling him "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy," and telling him to "get his act together." Trump told NBC News last month he was "not a big fan" of Leo and believed the pope was "doing a very good job." He has doubled down repeatedly, recently telling right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt that Leo was "endangering a lot of Catholics" by his opposition to keeping nuclear weapons from Iran.
Trump's core objection centers on Leo's appeals for peace and his criticism of nuclear proliferation. The president views the pontiff's position as a threat to American security interests in the Middle East. "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.
Leo has refused to back down. The pope, who marks his first year in office Friday, said he harbors "no fear of the Trump administration" and remains committed to advocating for peace rooted in Gospel teaching. He has explicitly rejected Trump's characterization of his stance as tacit approval of Iranian nuclear weapons. "The Church has for years spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt about that," Leo said Tuesday, adding that anyone wishing to criticize him should do so "with truth."
During an African tour last month, Leo condemned the "delusion of omnipotence" fueling the U.S.-Israel military campaign in Iran and called Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization "truly unacceptable." Cardinal Parolin defended the pontiff's interventions on Wednesday, saying Trump's attacks seemed "strange to me, to say the least."
Trump has refused to apologize. He even posted an image on social media appearing to depict himself as Jesus Christ before deleting it following public backlash.
Rubio's Vatican visit precedes a Friday meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a close Trump ally who has notably defended the pope at a time when Trump has been critical of other European leaders' insufficient support for his Iran policy.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Rubio's mission is damage control on a relationship that Trump seems determined to torch, but the pope shows no signs of yielding to presidential pressure."
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