Marco Rubio, the United States Secretary of State, met on Thursday, May 7, with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, during a moment of diplomatic tension between Washington and the Holy See, amplified by the repeated attacks of President Donald Trump against the Sovereign Pontiff.
Rubio’s visit takes place at a delicate moment for the relations between the United States and the Vatican, against the backdrop of increasingly evident divergences between the Trump administration and the first American pope in the over 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church, according to CNN.
The White House has denied that the movement of the head of American diplomacy represents an attempt to reset relations with the Vatican or a gesture intended for reconciliation with the dissatisfied Catholic electorate. However, political analysts argue that Washington needs a normalization of relations with the Holy See and even its support in sensitive cases, such as that of Cuba.
Rubio’s official plane landed in Rome on Thursday morning, a day ahead of the first anniversary of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate. Subsequently, the American Secretary of State proceeded to the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Sovereign Pontiff, where the official meeting took place.
Before leaving, Rubio dismissed speculation about a possible attempt at diplomatic de-escalation.
“The journey is not tied to anything other than the fact that it is normal for us to have contact with them,” the American official declared, in a press conference held Tuesday at the White House.
At the same time, he admitted that there are “many subjects to discuss with the Vatican“, including the situation in Cuba.
Trump’s criticisms of the Pope have amplified tensions
Rubio’s visit comes after a series of extremely harsh statements made by Donald Trump against Pope Leo XIV, particularly after the Sovereign Pontiff expressed his opposition to the American military operation in Iran and reaffirmed his support for refugees and migrants – positions in direct contradiction with the agenda of the Republican administration.
In a comprehensive post published last month on the Truth Social platform, Trump described the Pope as “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy”.
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