Pope Leo XIV and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have committed to promoting good relations between Washington and the Vatican during a meeting in Rome, following tensions over the Iran war. The pair also discussed the current Middle East crisis, which triggered the spat between President Donald Trump and the pontiff.
Afterwards, Mr Rubio, a Catholic himself, met with the Vatican's top diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, during a visit that lasted two-and-a-half hours. The Vatican said in a statement that the Pope and Mr Rubio had “renewed the shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations”. It also noted they had “exchanged views” on current events, “with particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as on the need to work tirelessly in favour of peace”.
Separately, US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said Mr Rubio and the Pope discussed the situation in the Middle East “and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere”. He added: “The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity.”
Exchanging gifts ahead of the private meeting, Mr Rubio gave the US-born Pope a small crystal American football paperweight bearing the seal of the State Department. He joked that he knew the pontiff, originally from Chicago and a fan of the White Sox, was more of a “baseball guy”. Mr Rubio added: “What to get someone who has everything?” In turn, the Pope presented Mr Rubio with a wooden pen adorned with the papal coat of arms, made from an olive tree, which he pointed out was “the plant of peace”.
Mr Rubio is due to meet on Friday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, an erstwhile ally of Mr Trump who took issue with his criticism of the Pope. The secretary of state's bid to repair relations with the Vatican was further complicated this week after the US president launched a fresh broadside at the Pope, accusing him of “endangering” Catholics by claiming he was content with Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. The head of the Catholic Church had not made such a statement, but has been critical of the conflict with Tehran and urged peace, while condemning the use of religion to justify war.
The Pope also previously warned the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants”, and branded Mr Trump's threat to wipe out Iranian civilisation as “truly unacceptable”. In response, Mr Trump declared he was “not a fan of Pope Leo”, accusing him of being “weak” and pandering to the “radical left”. The row was inflamed further after the president posted an image on social media portraying him as Jesus Christ, which was subsequently deleted following a backlash.
