Marco Rubio meets with Pope Leo following weeks of tension over war in Iran
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Italy Thursday, meeting with Pope Leo following weeks of tension between Washington and the Vatican.
Rubio’s trip is the first meeting between the head of the Catholic Church and a Trump cabinet member in nearly a year. When asked whether he was visiting to “smooth things over” with the Vatican, Rubio said the trip was planned before tensions arose between the pope and Trump.
He said the two had “a lot to talk about,” including humanitarian aid for Cuba and religious freedoms globally, but added, “obviously we had some stuff that happened.”
Tension between the pope, Trump
In the past few weeks, President Donald Trump has criticized the first American pontiff over comments he’s made about the war in Iran.
It all began when the pope condemned Trump’s threat to “wipe out” an entire civilization in Iran. He urged Americans to contact members of Congress to object.
Since then, the president has said Pope Leo is not “doing a very good job,” called him a “very liberal person” and accused him of “catering to the radical left.”
Last month, he told NBC News he was “not a big fan” of the pope, adding, “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime, I guess.”
His most recent comments came this week, as he spoke to right-wing radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.
“The Pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good,” Trump said.
The rest of Rubio’s trip
As Straight Arrow previously reported, in addition to meeting with the pope, the State Department told Straight Arrow Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere.
Italy’s Corriere della Sera reported Rubio hopes to meet with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and he is expected to hold talks with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
