Vatican stresses need for peace as Rubio meets pope amid strained relations | Pope Leo XIV

The Vatican said Donald Trump raised “the need to work tirelessly for peace” in talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is in Rome on a trip widely seen as an effort to ease tensions, after his repeated criticism of Pope Leo.

Rubio was received by the pope at the Apostolic Palace on Thursday before holding a series of meetings with Vatican officials at a time of unprecedented tension in relations between the Vatican and Washington.

Video from the Vatican showed the first pope in North America shaking hands with his guest and formally addressing him as “Mr. Secretary.” Rubio, a Catholic, responded: “It’s nice to see you.”

Rubio was seen handing the pope a small crystal American football. He joked that he knew Leo, originally from Chicago and a known White Sox fan, was more of a “baseball guy.”

After the 45-minute papal audience, Rubio also met with Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state and de facto chief diplomat, who had strongly defended Leo on the eve of his visit and criticized Trump’s latest attacks as “pretty strange.”

In a statement, Vatican said The two sides exchanged views on current events, “paying particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as the need to work tirelessly for peace.”

A US official told reporters that the talks were “friendly and constructive”. A US State Department spokesman said Rubio met with Leo “to discuss the situation in the Middle East and issues of common interest in the western hemisphere.”

“The meeting highlighted the strong relationship between the United States and the Vatican, as well as their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity,” he added.

It was unclear to what extent the meetings would help repair ties between Washington D.C. and the Vatican.

Trump on Tuesday launched a new verbal attack on the Pope, accusing him of supporting nuclear weapons and “endangering many Catholics” with his stance against the Iran war.

On Wednesday, Leo responded: “If anyone wants to criticize me for preaching the gospel, let him do so with the facts: the church has been speaking out against all nuclear weapons for years, there is no doubt about that. I only hope to be listened to for the value of God’s word.”

Relations between the Vatican and Washington have never been more tense. In April, the US president lashed out at Leo over the pope’s criticism of the war in Iran, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy” and claiming he was elected pope because Trump himself occupied the White House. Trump later shared — before deleting — an AI-generated image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure.

The purpose of Rubio’s meeting was to soften Trump’s insults and repair increasingly damaged ties between the United States and the Vatican. According to some analysts, the secretary of state was expected to defend Washington’s justification for launching a war in Iran and carefully avoid a direct conflict with the church’s position.

When asked whether he trusts Rubio or Trump more, he said: Parolin told reporters: On Tuesday: “I trust no one. I trust only our Lord Jesus Christ.” “For Trump to attack Leo like that or blame him for what he did seems pretty odd, to say the least,” he added.

Rubio will meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday as relations between Rome and Washington also deteriorate.

Although he said earlier this year that he hoped Trump would one day receive the Nobel peace prize, Lorenzo Castellani, a political historian at the Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome, said Trump’s attacks on the pope “effectively forced Meloni to distance himself from the US president”, sparking widespread outrage in Italy, where the papacy plays a pivotal role in the political and cultural imagination.

According to some Italian newspapersRubio’s goal in talks with Italy will not necessarily be to mend relations, but rather to reassert Trump’s position after the US president lashed out at Meloni in April, accusing him of a lack of courage for refusing to join the US campaign against Iran.

According to Castellani, Meloni’s transition from being a staunch ally of Trump to adopting a more critical stance towards the US president stems from political and electoral considerations.

“For the first time since the Second World War, foreign policy has become the main concern of the Italian public,” Castellani said. “This change had already begun with the war in Ukraine, but the current crisis represents a decisive escalation. The reason is simple: this is a conflict with direct geopolitical and economic consequences for Italy and Europe as a whole.”

He added: “Meloni can therefore no longer maintain a clear distinction between foreign and domestic policy. In the past he has taken positions that are at odds with some segments of his own electorate. But now, recent polls show that there is broad consensus on both the right and the left to condemn Trump’s position. The same sentiments now affect a large portion of the electorate – probably as much as 80 to 90%.”

The talks are also expected to highlight the future of approximately 13,000 US military personnel serving at seven naval bases in Italy.

Asked last week whether he would consider withdrawing US troops from Italy, Trump told reporters: “Probably… Italy hasn’t done us any good.”