Rubio meets Pope Leo after weeks of tensions with Trump
Source: CNN Politics
Updated May 7, 2026, 7:38 AM ET
PUBLISHED May 6, 2026, 12:46 PM ET
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Thursday amid a historic period of tension between Washington and the Vatican. Rubio’s visit follows President Donald Trump’s extraordinary criticisms of the first American pope in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history, which came after the pontiff expressed his opposition to the US military operation in Iran.
Leo has also continued to speak for the interests of refugees and migrants, in sharp contrast to the Trump administration. Rubio’s plane touched down in Rome Thursday morning, also the eve of Leo’s first anniversary as pope, before the secretary of state headed to the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope, where the meeting took place.
Ahead of his departure, the top US diplomat dismissed the notion that the meeting with Pope Leo is an attempt to re-set diplomatic relations with the Vatican, which the US has relied on as a humanitarian partner for years. He did acknowledge, however, that “there’s a lot to talk about with the Vatican,” including Cuba.
“The trip is really not tied to anything other than the fact that it would be normal for us to engage with them,” Rubio said at a White House press briefing Tuesday. His trip to Rome and the Vatican comes as Trump has lashed out not only at the pope for his views on the war but also lambasted the US’ longtime European allies – further testing the transatlantic relationship in ways not seen in decades.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/06/politics/pope-leo-rubio-meeting
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