Name: Rubio Discusses ‘Peace and Human Dignity' With Pope Amid Clash With Trump
Uploaded: 2026-05-07T22:17:11.000Z
Description: Trump has criticized the pontiff over his opposition to the war with Iran and immigration issues.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV on Thursday to solidify diplomatic ties following clashes between President Donald Trump and the Vatican.

Trump has criticized the pontiff over his opposition to the war with Iran and immigration issues.

“Met with [Pope Leo] to underscore our shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity,” Rubio wrote in a <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/2052368040151458034?s=20">post</a> on X, sharing photos of their meeting at the Vatican.

Ahead of his visit to Italy, Rubio told reporters that the trip is part of efforts by the United States to engage, noting past secretaries of state have done the same.

The Vatican said it raised the “need to work tirelessly in favor of peace” in Thursday’s talks.

Pope Leo has publicly criticized the escalating war in Iran and broader U.S. policies. The Vatican said the pope was simply advocating for peace and reconciliation, but Trump was nonetheless displeased with his statements, calling him “very liberal,” “weak on crime,” and “terrible for foreign policy.”

Trump also suggested that the Pope was helping Iran and making the world less safe with his comments about the importance of not treating immigrants with disrespect.

“The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said in an interview on Monday. “And I don’t think that’s very good. I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.”

Rubio, a practicing Catholic, also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, who previously condemned Trump’s attacks on the pontiff.

“Attacking him like that or criticizing what he does seems a bit strange to me, to say the least,” Parolin said on Wednesday.

Trump said he won’t apologize to the Pope for his comments, while Pope Leo has stated that he’s not afraid of the president and will continue to spread the word of the Gospel.

On Friday, Rubio will meet with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani after both leaders defended the Pope against Trump’s attacks. Rubio has insisted that those meetings have been in the works for quite some time, but that “obviously we had some stuff that happened.”

<em>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</em>

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