From religion to diplomatic row: Pope Leo, US's Rubio prepare for the Vatican meet

While speaking to the reporters on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he has "a lot to talk about" with Pope Leo XIV as the American diplomat prepares for his trip to the Vatican on Thursday. The trip was coming amid an ongoing tussle between US President Donald Trump and the Vatican sovereign, over their stance on numerous issues.

On Tuesday, Rubio was asked by a reporter whether the May 7 meeting with the pontiff is an attempt to “smooth things over” with Leo after Trump called him “weak on crime” and “weak on nuclear weapons” and falsely accused him of wanting Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. The Secretary of State clarified that this was not the reason for the meeting.

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Instead, he said that it is “a trip we had planned from before.” He acknowledged “we had some stuff that happened” but said there is “a lot to talk about with the Vatican.” “The Pope just returned from a trip to Africa, where the Church is growing very vibrantly, and we have shared concerns about religious freedom in different parts of the world,” Rubio said. “We’d love to talk to them about that.”

The American diplomat noted that the United States gave $6 million of humanitarian aid to Cuba, which was then distributed by the Church, and “we’d like to do more” with that partnership. “We’re willing to give more humanitarian aid to Cuba, by the way, distributed through the Church, but the Cuban regime has to allow us to do it,” he said.

Pope navigates Trump tirade

While Rubio prepares for his Vatican trip, Pope Leo said that he has never supported nuclear weapons and that those who criticise him need to speak the truth. This was the Vatican head's response to Trump's latest tirade, accusing him of “endangering a lot of Catholics” with his stance on the Iran war.

While speaking to journalists on Tuesday night after leaving the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, the first US-born pontiff said: “The mission of the church is to preach the gospel, to preach peace.” “If anyone wants to criticise me for proclaiming the gospel, let them do so with the truth: the church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, there is no doubt about that,” the pope said. “I simply hope to be listened to because of the value of God’s word.”

Earlier that day, Trump told Hugh Hewitt, a prominent conservative radio talkshow host: “The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good." “I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people. But I guess if it’s up to the pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon," he said

However, in the Vatican, the latest remarks were met with puzzlement. When asked on Wednesday how he evaluated the attacks, Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, told reporters: “For me it seems a bit strange, to say the least.” In April this year, the American president lashed out at the Pope in response to the Pope’s criticisms of the war on Iran, calling Leo “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy” and saying he had only been elected pontiff because Trump himself was in the White House. Since then, tensions have remained ripe between the two nations.