A American statesman who shares the Catholic faith has crossed an ocean to sit with a pope whose words have stung his own president, in the hope that a quarrel over war, mercy, and the bomb can be lowered before it hardens into estrangement. The question underneath is an old one: whether a temporal power and a spiritual voice that claims the moral high ground can keep talking when they disagree about how the world should end its wars. Whether the visit mends anything or merely records that the conversation still continues, the decision to keep the door open is itself a small act of the patienc
Rubio Seeks to Mend Ties With Pope Leo XIV as Trump's Iran Criticism Strains Vatican Relations
"Let him do it with the truth," the pope said of his critics
Mark
Why does a visit like this matter if nothing concrete is expected from it?
Mimi
Because the Vatican didn't cancel. Even after Trump's latest broadside, the audience went ahead, and one commentator read that as a sign Rome wants dialogue open.
Luke
That's Massimo Franco's reading, though. The Vatican itself hasn't said that.
Mark
What is Rubio's role here?
Mimi
He's often called on to explain or soften Trump's rhetoric. He argued the criticism comes from opposing an Iranian bomb.
Luke
And Leo says he never endorsed that. The two accounts don't match, and the report doesn't settle what exactly Trump was responding to.
Mark
Is this about the pope or about Rubio?
Mimi
Gramaglia says it's more about Rubio's own ambitions, the midterms and 2028. Father Spadaro sees it as Washington acknowledging Leo's weight.
Luke
Both are interpretations. Neither man speaks for Rubio, and we have no readout of the meeting itself yet.
Mark
And Cuba?
Mimi
The Vatican worries about military threats, while Rubio points to USD 6 million in aid distributed through the church.
Luke
That figure comes from Rubio. Whether more aid is coming is still unknown.
O Pulso
- Trump's social media attacks on Pope Leo XIV have set the Holy See and Washington on a collision course over the Iran war.
- Rubio's Vatican visit was complicated at the last minute as fresh criticism from the president landed mid-diplomacy.
- Leo insists the church preaches peace and never endorsed an Iranian bomb, yet refuses to retreat from his critique of war.
- Meloni and Tajani face a harder Friday in Italy, squeezed between a defiant Vatican, a critical Rome, and an impatient Washington.
- Cuba looms as a possible next flashpoint, with the Holy See wary of military threats and the aid channel running through the church.
A American statesman who shares the Catholic faith has crossed an ocean to sit with a pope whose words have stung his own president, in the hope that a quarrel over war, mercy, and the bomb can be lowered before it hardens into estrangement. The question underneath is an old one: whether a temporal power and a spiritual voice that claims the moral high ground can keep talking when they disagree about how the world should end its wars. Whether the visit mends anything or merely records that the conversation still continues, the decision to keep the door open is itself a small act of the patience diplomacy has always required.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived at the Vatican hoping to repair a rift that had opened when President Donald Trump publicly attacked Pope Leo XIV. The US-Israeli war in Iran had angered the Holy See, and the visit was meant to calm things. Rubio, a practising Catholic, was scheduled to meet the Chicago-born pope and the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. At the last minute, Trump's latest criticism of Leo threatened to complicate the encounter. Parolin had already defended the pope in measured but pointed terms, saying the attacks seemed strange. Rubio told reporters the trip had been planned for some time, though obviously some things had happened.
The quarrel began last month, when Trump said on social media that the pope was soft on crime and terrorism. He was responding to Leo's criticism of immigration policy, deportations, and the Iran war. Leo replied that God does not hear the prayers of those who wage war. Trump later posted an image that seemed to cast himself as Jesus Christ, then deleted it after backlash, explaining it as a doctor. He has not apologised. Rubio defended the president by stressing the danger of an Iranian nuclear weapon. Leo answered that the church has always opposed all nuclear arms and never argued otherwise, and that the just war tradition must be reconsidered in the nuclear age, where dialogue should replace the search for weapons.
Italian commentators were doubtful. One former news chief suspected Rubio's aims were personal, tied to his ambitions within the Republican Party. A Vatican writer argued that Washington was not trying to convert the pope, but had acknowledged that his voice carries weight. A Roman journalist noted that the Vatican's decision not to cancel the audience signalled a wish to keep talking.
The harder test may come in Italy on Friday. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani have also defended Leo and called the Iran war illegal, angering Trump, who has criticised European allies and announced troop withdrawals from Germany. Keeping faith with Washington while disagreeing with its president is becoming difficult. Cuba is also on the table, as the Holy See watches with concern the threats of military action following the ouster of Venezuela's Maduro. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, said Washington had sent six million dollars in aid that Havana would not allow to be distributed, so it went through the church. What happens next depends on whether these conversations hold together, and whether Cuba becomes the next point of friction.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a visit to the Vatican that was meant to repair a rift. The rift opened when President Donald Trump publicly attacked Pope Leo XIV and the US-Israeli war in Iran angered the Holy See. Rubio, a practising Catholic, had an audience scheduled with the Chicago-born pope. It was complicated at the last minute by Trump's latest criticism of Leo. He was also due to meet the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Parolin had spoken the day before, in measured diplomatic terms, in defence of the pope. "Attacking him like that or criticising what he does seems a bit strange to me, to say the least," he said on Wednesday. Rubio told reporters that the trip had been planned for some time, but that "obviously we had some stuff that happened."
The tensions began last month, when Trump used social media to say the pope was soft on crime and terrorism. He was reacting to Leo's comments on the administration's immigration policies and deportations, and on the Iran war. Leo responded that God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war. Trump later posted an image that appeared to liken himself to Jesus Christ. It was deleted after backlash. Trump has refused to apologise to Leo and tried to explain the post by saying he thought the image showed him as a doctor.
Rubio framed Trump's criticisms as grounded in opposition to Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, which he said could be used against millions of Catholics and other Christians. Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, he said he could not understand why anyone would think it a good idea for Iran to ever have one. Leo has said he never argued for that, and that the church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years. Late Tuesday, after Trump again accused him of being "OK" with an Iranian bomb, the pope said the church's mission is to preach the Gospel and peace. "If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth," he said. He acknowledged that the church has always permitted self-defence and has a "just war" tradition. But in the nuclear age, he said, the whole concept of war has to be reevaluated, and dialogue is better than looking for arms.
Italian commentators doubted how much the visit would achieve. Giampiero Gramaglia, former head of the ANSA news agency and its onetime Washington correspondent, told Italy's Foreign Press Association that he doubts Rubio is acting as Trump's conciliator. He thinks the mission is "more about himself" and his ambitions as a prominent Catholic Republican, with the midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race ahead. The Rev. Antonio Spadaro, an undersecretary in the Vatican's culture office, wrote that the aim was not to "convert" the pope to Trump's side. In his view, Washington has acknowledged, implicitly but legibly, that Leo's voice carries weight that cannot be dismissed. Journalist Massimo Franco wrote in Corriere della Sera that the Vatican's decision not to cancel the audience showed its readiness to keep dialogue open.
Rubio's Friday meetings in Italy may be harder. Premier Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani have both defended Leo against Trump and called the Iran war illegal, which drew the president's ire. Trump has also criticised Meloni and other NATO allies for lacking support for the war, and recently announced plans to pull thousands of troops out of Germany in the coming months. Franco wrote that keeping the US alliance firm while criticising its president is proving increasingly difficult. Farian Sabahi, a contemporary history professor at the University of Insubria, argued that condemning the war would suit Italy commercially. Italy is the EU's second-largest trading partner with Iran after Germany, and she said other players are ready to enter the Iranian market.
Cuba is also on the agenda. The Holy See is concerned about the administration's threats of possible military action there, following the January ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Trump has said Cuba could be "next," and suggested naval assets in the Middle East might return to the US via Cuba after the Iran war. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a longtime Cuba hawk, said the US gave Cuba USD 6 million in humanitarian aid but the Cuban government would not let it be distributed, so it went through the church. He said Washington would like to do more.
What to watch next is how Rubio's talks with Meloni and Tajani go on Friday, and whether Cuba becomes the next point of friction with the Vatican.
Citações Notáveis
Attacking him like that or criticising what he does seems a bit strange to me, to say the least.— Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state
If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth.— Pope Leo XIV
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