Rubio Meets Pope In Bid To Ease Tensions

On Thursday, top U.S. diplomat Marco Rubio visited the Vatican for talks with the first American pope, Leo XIV, amid heightened tensions between the White House and the Holy See.

The US secretary of state’s visit comes after Trump’s extraordinary criticism of Leo, the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, over his anti-war stance.

AFP reporters saw Rubio’s motorcade driving up Via della Conciliazione — the grand avenue leading up to St Peter’s Basilica — before entering the Vatican.

Rubio, a devout Catholic, has sought to play down the rift ahead of the private audience, which will be followed by talks with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

The US ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, told reporters this week it would likely be a “frank conversation”.

For the Vatican’s part, “we’ll listen to him”, Parolin told reporters on Wednesday, noting that Washington initiated the meeting.

The Trump administration had celebrated the election one year ago — May 8, 2025 — of Leo, the first US pontiff in history.

But its relations with the Holy See have since sharply deteriorated.

In a surprising move last month, Trump took to social media to accuse the pope of being “weak on crime” and “terrible at foreign policy.”

His comments followed Leo’s call for peace in the Middle East conflict involving Israel and the United States. He also criticized Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization, calling it “truly unacceptable.”

Before leaving, Rubio said the trip had been planned before the clash, “and obviously we had some stuff that happened”.

“There’s a lot to talk about with the Vatican,” he told reporters at the White House, noting particularly the issue of religious freedom, on which the Vatican and Washington agree.