{"id":84771,"date":"2026-05-08T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/?p=84771"},"modified":"2026-05-07T18:35:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T00:35:04","slug":"rubio-meets-pope-amid-u-s-tensions-with-vatican","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/rubio-meets-pope-amid-u-s-tensions-with-vatican\/","title":{"rendered":"Rubio meets Pope Leo XIV amid U.S. tensions with Vatican"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Rubio<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amid growing tensions between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV, the pontiff met privately with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They discussed \u201cthe situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere,\u201d according to a statement from Tommy Pigott, the spokesman for the State Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting, in the pope\u2019s private library at a palace that overlooks St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, took place days after President Trump escalated his attacks on Leo, who has consistently criticized the U.S.-Israeli-led war in Iran. The pope, the first from the United States, has emerged as a spiritual counterweight to Mr. Trump\u2019s leadership, encouraging American bishops to support immigrants amid a Trump administration crackdown and condemning the administration\u2019s military ambitions in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Trump told a conservative talk show host on Tuesday that Pope Leo was \u201cendangering a lot of Catholics\u201d and that \u201cthe pope would rather talk about the fact that it\u2019s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s very good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Leo, speaking later to reporters who had asked about the president\u2019s latest remarks, said that \u201cif someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let him do so truthfully. The church for years has spoken against all nuclear weapons, so there\u2019s no doubt there. And so I hope simply to be listened to for the value of the words of God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Rubio, speaking at the White House at a press briefing also on Tuesday, said that the president \u201cdoesn\u2019t understand why anybody, leave aside the Pope\u201d would \u201cthink that it\u2019s a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon.\u201d The pope has never said that it would be a good idea for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, Mr. Rubio was accompanied to the Vatican by his wife, Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio. The secretary then met one on one with the pope. A photo released by L\u2019Osservatore Romano, a Vatican-owned newspaper, showed the secretary sitting to the side of the pope\u2019s desk, apparently listening in concentration while the pope spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the State Department statement, Mr. Piggott said that \u201cthe meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Rubio will stay in Rome through Friday, when he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani of Italy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n