Secretary of State Marco Rubio “underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See” and the “enduring partnership” between them during his meeting with Pope Leo XIV.
The pontiff hosted Rubio for 2 1/2 hours Thursday in Vatican City, where the pair reportedly discussed issues ranging from global politics to religious freedom concerns.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the two statesmen specifically discussed “the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere.”
“The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity,” Pigott added.
The pontiff has opposed U.S. operations against Iran and gone so far as instructing American Catholics to urge their elected officials to take action.
President Donald Trump, frustrated by the countersignaling from Rome, has called the pope “weak on crime” and accused him of “endangering a lot of Catholics” by not caring whether Iran acquires a nuclear weapon.
Leo took issue with that characterization, telling reporters outside Castel Gandolfo on Tuesday that “should anyone want to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, they should do so with the truth.”
“For years, the church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there’s no doubt about it, there,” he explained. “So, I simply hope to be listened to for the value of God’s word.”
The beef has not worked in the president’s favor.
A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released Wednesday found that 66% of Americans supported the pope’s call for citizens to contact lawmakers and press for peace, compared to 30% who disapproved. The same poll found 57% of Americans felt negatively about Trump’s social media post that he does not “want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
Rubio also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See secretary of state, who previously expressed bafflement at Trump’s rhetoric against the pope.
“To attack him in this way or to reproach what he does seems a bit strange to me,” Parolin said on Wednesday.
The “topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere” discussed on Thursday almost certainly included humanitarian aid to Cuba. Rubio mentioned the island nation during a White House briefing earlier this week.
“You know, we gave Cuba $6 million in humanitarian aid, but obviously, they won’t let us distribute it,” he explained. “We distributed it through the church. We’d love to do more.”
During a gift exchange, Rubio offered the pope a small crystal football with the State Department seal engraved on it, even though he acknowledged the pontiff is a “baseball guy.” It is a gift Rubio has given to other world leaders in the past.
“What to get someone who has everything?” Rubio joked to Leo as he presented it.
VANCE ‘GRATEFUL’ TO POPE LEO FOR CLEARING UP FEUD WITH TRUMP
Leo, meanwhile, gifted Rubio a pen made of olive wood and emblazoned with the pontiff’s coat of arms. He pointed out that the olive tree is regarded as the “plant of peace.”
The pope also gifted Rubio “what we in Chicago call a coffee table book” of artwork housed in the Vatican churches and museums.