Overview
- Rubio met Pope Leo XIV in a 45-minute private audience Thursday, then conferred with Cardinal Pietro Parolin in follow-up talks.
- The State Department said the discussions were amicable and constructive and stressed the solidity of U.S.–Holy See ties and a shared focus on human dignity.
- Both sides reviewed the war with Iran, a Vatican peace proposal, the situation in Lebanon, and humanitarian work in the Americas, including channeling aid to Cuba through Church networks like Caritas.
- The visit followed weeks of Trump attacks on the pope, including a false claim about Iran, which Leo XIV answered by restating the Church’s long-held rejection of nuclear weapons.
- It marked the first known meeting between a Trump cabinet member and Leo XIV in nearly a year, while the personal rift remains unresolved and future White House rhetoric is unclear.