Rubio visits Vatican to mend rift after Trump's attacks on Pope Leo

Secretary of State Marco Rubio opened diplomatic talks at the Vatican Thursday, seeking to repair U.S.-Holy See relations strained by President Trump's public attacks on Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff's positions on Iran.

The visit underscores a widening breach between the Trump administration and the Roman Catholic Church, with the president accusing the Chicago-born pope of being soft on terrorism — a charge Leo has firmly denied.

Rubio, a practicing Catholic, met Thursday with Leo and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. The talks aimed at correcting what Vatican officials described as a White House mischaracterization of the pope's views on nuclear weapons and Iran.

Trump had accused Leo of favoring Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons. The pope rejected the charge, saying the Catholic Church "has always opposed all nuclear weapons." In a statement issued late Tuesday, Leo said, "The mission of the church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth," ABC7 reported.

Parolin told reporters Wednesday that Trump's attacks on the pontiff were unusual. "Attacking him like that or criticizing what he does seems a bit strange to me, to say the least," the cardinal said. Despite the tensions, Parolin added: "We cannot ignore the United States. Despite some difficulties, they certainly remain a key partner for the Holy See, not least because they play a role in almost every situation we face today."

Rev. Antonio Spadaro, an undersecretary in the Vatican's culture office, framed Rubio's mission as a corrective rather than a reconciliation. "The situation created by President Trump's remarks required a high-level, direct intervention, conducted in the proper language of diplomacy: a semantic corrective to a narrative of frontal conflict with the church," Spadaro wrote in an essay this week, according to ABC7.

Some analysts questioned Rubio's motivations. Giampiero Gramaglia, a former head of the ANSA news agency, told Italy's Foreign Press Association: "I doubt Rubio has the role of conciliator for Trump. I have the perception that Rubio's mission is more about himself" — a remark widely interpreted as a reference to Rubio's reported interest in a 2028 presidential run.

Leo also addressed the nature of conflict in broader terms earlier this week. "The whole concept of war has to be reevaluated in terms today. And I always believe that it's much better to enter into dialogue than to look for arms," the pope said, ABC7 reported.

The Vatican meetings also covered Cuba — where the Holy See channels $6 million in U.S. humanitarian aid — and Rubio was scheduled to meet Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.