Rubio reports ‘very good meeting’ with Leo despite Trump attacks

‘I think it’s an opportunity personally to express our point of view from the standpoint of foreign policy in the areas we’re involved in and share insights, but also to gain insights.’

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Vatican last week, days after President Donald Trump claimed the Pope “thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon”.

Secretary Rubio had an audience with Pope Leo on 7 May, as well as meetings with the Holy See’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

The “cordial talks” reaffirmed their “shared commitment to fostering sound bilateral relations”, according to a statement from the Holy See Press Office.

“Views were then exchanged regarding situations on the regional and international levels, with particular attention given to countries experiencing war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations as well as the need to work tirelessly for peace.”

State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said Rubio and the Pope discussed “the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the western hemisphere”, emphasising their “strong relationship” and “shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity”.

Piggott said the meeting with Cardinal Parolin covered “mutual cooperation and pressing international issues” and “reviewed ongoing humanitarian efforts in the western hemisphere and efforts to achieve a durable peace in the Middle East”.

“The discussion reflected the enduring partnership between the United States and the Holy See in advancing religious freedom,” he said.

Three days earlier, President Trump had told a US radio show that the Pope was “endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people” by purportedly consenting to Iran developing a nuclear weapon, echoing his criticism of Leo on social media in mid-April.

“If someone wants to criticise me for proclaiming the Gospel, let him do so truthfully,” Pope Leo told reporters the next day. “For years, the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point.”

Speaking to reporters at the US Embassy to the Holy See on 8 May, Rubio insisted he “had a very good meeting” at the Vatican and “updated them on the situation with Iran, expressed our point of view about why this was important, and the danger that Iran poses to the world”.

“I think it’s an opportunity personally to express our point of view from the standpoint of foreign policy in the areas we’re involved in and share insights, but also to gain insights,” he said.

“Because the Church has a unique role in many of these countries in terms of the insights and information that they’re receiving. In some cases in the past, the Church has been an important interlocutor – not just with governments, but with societies.”

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