Rubio expects ‘frank’ Pope meeting after Trump attacks
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expects a “cordial” meeting with Pope Leo during his visit to the Vatican, the US ambassador said, after President Donald Trump dealt a fresh blow to the pope for criticizing the US war in Iran.
“Nations have disagreements, and I think one of the ways to overcome them is through brotherhood and authentic dialogue,” said US Ambassador to the Vatican Brian Burch.
“I think the secretary came here in that spirit,” Burch told reporters.
“To have a frank conversation, to engage in dialogue, about U.S. policy.”
Trump has repeatedly disparaged the first US-born pope in recent weeks, prompting a backlash from Christian leaders across the political spectrum.
“The Pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons, and I don’t think that’s very good,” Trump told right-wing radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt in his latest comments.
“I think it puts a lot of Catholics and a lot of people in danger. But if it comes down to the Pope, he thinks it’s OK for Iran to have nuclear weapons,” Trump said.
Leo never said Iran should have nuclear weapons, but he opposed the war, which Trump said was aimed at ending Iran’s nuclear program.
Rubio is a Catholic, as is Vice President J.D. Vance.
The pair met Leo a year ago after attending the inauguration, the Trump administration’s only known cabinet-level meeting with the Pope.
After an event hosted by his embassy at the Gregorian University in Rome on Tuesday, Burch was asked whether Rubio hoped to repair the relationship between Trump and Leo.
“I do not accept the idea that there is somehow a deep rift,” the ambassador replied.
Burch said Rubio will go so the United States and the Vatican “can better understand each other and if there are differences, they can certainly talk through them.”
Rubio will also meet in Rome on Friday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has defended the Pope.
War in Iran puts US leadership at risk, defense secretary says
Leo, who marks his first year as leader of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church on Friday, kept a relatively low profile on the global stage in the first months of his pontificate but has emerged in recent weeks as a harsh critic of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The pope also harshly criticized the Trump administration’s strict anti-immigration policies and called for dialogue between the United States and Catholic-majority Cuba to prevent violence.
