Rubio and Pope Leo discuss areas of disagreement after weeks of tensions with Trump

CTV News U.S. political analyst Eric Ham says Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s meeting with Pope Leo is a ‘diplomatic effort’ after Trump’s previous comments.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Thursday where the two discussed the issues of disagreement, including the Iran war, that have contributed to a historic period of tension between Washington and the Vatican.

Prior to the meeting, Rubio had dismissed the notion he was attempting to reset diplomatic relations with the Vatican after U.S. President Donald Trump’s extraordinary criticisms of the first North American pope in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history.

Trump had repeatedly attacked the pontiff for his disapproval of the U.S. war against Iran. Leo has also continued to speak for the interests of refugees and migrants, in sharp contrast to the Trump administration and its immigration crackdown.

Rubio was inside the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope, for more than two hours, according to the press pool on the ground. It is unclear how long the meeting with Leo lasted.

The Pope usually meets with heads of state or government, so it was a significant diplomatic gesture that he met formally with Rubio.

However, it was clear that the strained relationship – and the Pope’s continued opposition to the conflict – were topics of the conversation on Thursday.

The Holy See press office described the conversation as cordial, adding that “the shared commitment to cultivate good bilateral relations … was renewed.”

They added that there was “an exchange of views on the regional and international situation, with particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as on the need to work tirelessly for peace.”

A Vatican spokesman said that the discussions covered the Middle East, including Iran and Lebanon, conflicts in Africa and the situation facing the population in Cuba.

According to a brief readout from the U.S. State Department, two discussed “the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere.”

“The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity,” the readout said.

Video clips from the closed-door meeting, released by Vatican Media, show the top U.S. diplomat and the U.S. pontiff exchanging some pleasantries, as well as gifts. Rubio, who acknowledged that Leo is a “baseball guy,” gifted the pope a small crystal football with the seal of the State Department.

“Oh, OK,” Leo replied in the clip.

The pontiff gave Rubio a pen made from olive wood, which he noted is the plant of peace.

The Holy See press office said Rubio met with Pope Leo before meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is the Vatican’s secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister, adding that during the meetings,

Rubio had said prior to the meeting that he planned to discuss Cuba with the Pope. The Trump administration has distributed millions in humanitarian aid on the island through the Catholic Church.

Rubio’s plane touched down in Rome Thursday morning, also the eve of Leo’s first anniversary as pope, before the U.S. secretary of state headed to the Apostolic Palace.

Meeting follows Trump’s attacks on pope

Ahead of his departure, Rubio acknwoledged that “there’s a lot to talk about with the Vatican,” including Cuba.

“The trip is really not tied to anything other than the fact that it would be normal for us to engage with them,” Rubio said at a White House press briefing Tuesday.

His trip to Rome and the Vatican comes as Trump has lashed out not only at the pope for his views on the war but also lambasted the US’ longtime European allies – further testing the transatlantic relationship in ways not seen in decades. Rubio will meet on Friday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni amid ongoing criticism by Trump for what he said was Italy’s lack of support for the US’ war against Iran.

It marked the second meeting between Rubio, who is a devout Catholic, and the Chicago-born pope, and the first known meeting between a member of the administration and Leo in almost a year. Rubio and Vice President JD Vance met him after his inauguration mass last year.

In a lengthy Truth Social post last month, Trump criticized Leo as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

“Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!,” Trump wrote.

Pope Leo responded a day later that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue speaking for peace but insisted that it was “not in my interest” to debate the U.S. president. One Vatican official, later playing down the tensions, told CNN with a wry smile that “President Trump is too intelligent to be in a battle with a pope from the United States”.

But Trump’s attacks on Leo are not only unprecedented, but ongoing. On Monday, Trump once again took aim at the pope, saying that he was “endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people” with Trump claiming Leo is happy with Iran having a nuclear weapon.

The comments appeared to draw a rebuke from Italy’s foreign minister, who on Tuesday said that the attacks against the pontiff were not acceptable nor helpful to the cause of peace.

Pope says he should be criticized ‘with the truth’

On Tuesday, Leo said that people are free to criticize him, although they should “do so with the truth” and that “the mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel and peace.” On Trump’s claims about nuclear weapons, the pope said the church has for years “spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point.” Rubio on Tuesday downplayed Trump’s latest broadside.

Since his election last May, the first American pope has not had any direct contact – according to the public record – with Trump. The Vatican has made it clear that there will be no papal visit to the United States in 2026, largely due to the November mid-term elections with the pope not visiting countries in the run-up to elections.

Tensions have also been rising following news that, on Jan. 22, the Pentagon held an unusual meeting with the then papal ambassador to the United States. While both the Vatican and Pentagon rejected some of the reporting about what was discussed, one Vatican source described the meeting to CNN as “unprecedented” and that it was “tense”.

Officials say Thursday’s meeting would mark an attempt to move beyond the public back-and forth and return to the behind-the-scenes diplomacy favored by the Holy See. Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a Vatican official, sees the pope-Rubio meeting as “cooling the rhetoric” while Brian Burch, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, told reporters this week that the secretary of state is coming to have “a frank conversation about U.S. ⁠policy, to engage in dialogue.”

And though the primary purpose of the trip is not political, there is potentially an upside if Rubio can dampen tensions. While many Catholics voted for Trump’s re-election, some experts question the political rationale of attacking the pope, with CNN’s chief data analyst, Harry Enten, highlighting Pope Leo’s positive poll ratings. After criticizing the pope, the president also posted – and then deleted – an AI-image of himself as a Christ-like figure, which he later said depicted him as a doctor.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

Christopher Lamb, Jennifer Hansler, CNN