Overview
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is holding a private, roughly 30‑minute audience with Pope Leo on Thursday at the Apostolic Palace, followed by talks with Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
- The meeting follows fresh remarks by President Donald Trump claiming the pope is fine with Iran getting a nuclear weapon, a charge Leo rejected by restating the Church’s long opposition to all nuclear arms and its call for peace.
- Rubio has downplayed the trip as routine, though the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See said the talks would be frank, with an agenda that includes the Iran war, Cuba, religious freedom, and humanitarian aid.
- Polling reported this week shows broad public support for the pope’s calls for peace and rising unease with Trump’s rhetoric among Catholics, adding political risk as the dispute spills into U.S. domestic politics.
- Rubio will meet Italian leaders on Friday after Rome officials backed the pope and questioned the Iran campaign, underscoring how the Vatican’s moral weight and Italy’s stance could shape U.S. ties and relief efforts, including aid routed through the Church in Cuba.