Rubio faces delicate balancing act as Trump-Pope rift overshadows Rome visit

The Vatican raised the need to work tirelessly in favor of peace in talks Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who came to Rome on a fence-mending visit after President Donald Trumps criticisms of Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war.

Both the Vatican and the U.S. State Department stressed that Rubios meetings with Leo and the Vaticans top diplomat underscored strong bilateral ties. Those relations, though, have been strained over Trumps repeated broadsides about Leos calls for peace and dialogue to end the U.S.-Israeli war.

Rubio, a practicing Catholic, has often been called on to tone down or explain Trumps harsh rhetoric. He had an audience first with Leo, which was complicated at the last minute by Trumps latest criticism of the Chicago-born pope. During a 2-hour visit, Rubio then met with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who on the eve of his visit had strongly defended Leo and criticized Trumps attacks.

Attacking him like that or criticizing what he does seems a bit strange to me, to say the least, Parolin said Wednesday.

After the meetings, the U.S. State Department said that Rubio and Parolin discussed 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.

In a separate statement about the audience with Leo, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that the two discussed the situation in the Middle East and 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, he said.

The Vatican, for its part, said that during Rubios meetings with both Leo and Parolin, the shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America was reaffirmed.

It said the two sides exchanged views on the current events with particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as on the need to work tirelessly in favor of peace.

Rubio also has meetings Friday with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. Those meetings might not be much easier for Washingtons top diplomat, given both have strongly defended Leo against Trumps attacks and have criticized the Iran war as illegal drawing the presidents ire.A mission to smooth ties

The tensions began when Trump lashed out at Leo on social media last month, saying the pope was soft on crime and terrorism for comments about the administrations immigration policies and deportations as well as the Iran war. Leo then said that God doesnt listen to the prayers of those who wage war.

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Later, Trump posted a social media image appearing to liken himself to Jesus Christ, which was deleted after a backlash. He has refused to apologize to Leo and has sought to explain away the post by saying that he thought the image was a representation of him as a doctor.

Rubio said that Trumps recent criticisms of Leo were rooted in his opposition to Iran potentially obtaining a nuclear weapon, which he said could be used against millions of Catholics and other Christians.

Leo has never said Iran should obtain nuclear weapons and that the Catholic Church for years has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there.

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, Leo said late Tuesday, after Trump again accused him of being OK with Iran having a nuclear weapon.

By Thursday, tensions seemed to have eased.

Rubio gave Leo a small crystal football paperweight. He acknowledged Leos known allegiance to the Chicago White Sox, saying youre a baseball guy, but noted that the football had the seal of the State Department on it.

What to get someone who has everything? Rubio joked as he gave Leo the paperweight.

Leo, for his part, gave Rubio a pen apparently made of olive wood olive being of course the plant of peace, Leo said with his coat of arms on it and a picture book of Vatican artworks.

Trump also has criticized Meloni and other NATO allies for a lack of support for the Iran war, recently announcing plans to withdraw thousands of American troops from Germany in the coming months.Vatican seen as willing to have dialogue

Giampiero Gramaglia, former head of the ANSA news agency and its onetime Washington correspondent, said that he didnt expect much to come out of Rubio's visit for Italian or Vatican relations. He, and other Italian commentators, believe Rubio instead was looking to smooth over relations with the pope for his own political ambitions, as well as the upcoming midterm U.S. congressional elections and 2028 presidential race.

I doubt Rubio has the role of conciliator for Trump, he told Italy's Foreign Press Association. I have the perception that Rubios mission is more about himself and his political ambitions as a prominent Catholic Republican.

The Rev. Antonio Spadaro, undersecretary in the Vaticans culture office, said that Rubios mission wasnt to convert the pope to Trumps side. Rather, Washington has come to acknowledge implicitly but legibly that (Leos) voice carries weight in the world that cannot simply be dismissed.

The situation created by President Trumps 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, he wrote in an essay this week.