US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Meets Pope Leo XIV at Vatican Amidst Iran War Tensions
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday. His visit was expected to be a fence-mending mission after weeks of tensions over the war in Iran in which US President Donald Trump has repeatedly bashed Pope Leo over his promotion of peace in the region.
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PBS NewsHourSecretary of State Rubio on Thursday tried to smooth over another conflict sparked by the Iran war, this one with the pope. A meeting between Rubio and Pope Leo came after Trump repeatedly accused the pontiff of wanting Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Stephanie Sy reports on the meeting, and Amna Nawaz speaks with Miguel Diaz, former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, for more analysis.
Fox NewsSecretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo at the Vatican for "constructive" conversations on Thursday following heightened tensions between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo over the U.S.-Iran conflict.
The Guardian USThe US secretary of state met the Italian prime minister in Rome on Friday at a moment of unusual strain between Trump and Italy, driven largely by the war with Iran. Rubio called the meeting with Pope Leo 'cordial and important' and said he had explained the US position on Iran, in a fence-mending visit to Rome after sharp disagreements over the US-Israel war in Iran and Trump’s criticisms of the pontiff
BBC NewsUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday, at a time of increasing tensions following President Donald Trump's repeated attacks on the Catholic leader over the Iran war.
The HillSecretary of State Marco Rubio expressed a positive outlook on his meeting with Pope Leo XIV earlier this week, despite tensions between the White House and Vatican over the Iran war. “The holy father is a spiritual leader, first and foremost, I mean, that’s his role to play, and obviously the church has always interacted…
New York TimesThe meeting at the Vatican followed President Trump’s condemnation of Pope Leo XIV for opposing the war in Iran.
BreitbartPope Leo XIV received American Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Thursday morning, reportedly discussing international conflicts and “the strong relationship” between his country and the United States.
Washington ExaminerRubio also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See secretary of state, who previously expressed bafflement at Trump’s rhetoric against the pope.
Washington TimesOn Friday, Mr. Rubio will sit down with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. Ahead of the trip, Mr. Rubio told reporters at the White House that he planned to discuss several topics with the pope, including the war in Iran, religious freedom across the globe, humanitarian aid to Cuba, and the Catholic Church’s outreach to Africa.
NPR NewsMILAN, Italy (RNS) – Amid a growing public rift between Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump — arguably the two most influential American-born figures in the world — Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Vatican on Thursday seeking to highlight common ground between the Holy See and the Trump administration.
USA Today“Secretary of State Marco Rubio met today with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to discuss the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere,” he added.
ReutersVatican's careful words on Pope-Rubio meeting imply deep Trump tensions Reuters
ABC NewsBoth sides stressed that Rubio’s meetings with Leo and the Vatican’s top diplomat underscored strong bilateral ties.
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New York Post“I’ve been a strong supporter of NATO throughout my career in the Senate and even now,” Rubio told reporters in Italy after he met with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday.
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At stake for Rome are both its security partnership with Washington and the economic impact of the war. Meloni has warned the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is driving up energy costs and squeezing household purchasing power, while potential U.S. tariff threats have raised concerns for Italy’s export-driven economy.
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Fox NewsThe Iran conflict has further complicated relations. Italian officials reportedly have expressed growing discomfort over the possibility of deeper U.S. military escalation and concerns surrounding American military basing access in Italy. Rome has also faced pressure domestically to distance itself from Washington’s handling of the conflict.
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On the other hand, Leo offered Rubio a pen made of olive wood, in what many have interpreted as a peace offering.
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Washington ExaminerLeo, meanwhile, gifted Rubio a pen made of olive wood and emblazoned with the pontiff’s coat of arms. He pointed out that the olive tree is regarded as the “plant of peace.”
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“For years, the church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there’s no doubt about it, there,” he explained. “So, I simply hope to be listened to for the value of God’s word.”
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Washington TimesLeo said the Catholic Church “for years has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there.” He pointed to the church’s teaching that says even possession of a nuclear weapon is “immoral.”
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“You know, we gave Cuba $6 million in humanitarian aid, but obviously, they won’t let us distribute it,” he explained. “We distributed it through the church. We’d love to do more.”
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Breitbart“We’re willing to give more humanitarian aid to Cuba … distributed through the church, but the Cuban regime has to allow us to do it,” Rubio explained. “They won’t allow us to give their own people more humanitarian aid, and we’re willing to do it through the church.”
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"I think he's endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people," he said. In response, Leo replied that "the mission of the church is to proclaim the gospel, to preach peace."
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Washington Times“The mission of the church is to preach the gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the gospel, let him do it with the truth,” Leo said. “And so I hope simply to be listened to about the value of the word of God.”
9 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 New York Post But, the secretary added, the point of being in NATO is for allies to help “in case of contingencies,” which did not happen when the US attacked Iran.
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02 Fox News Asked April 30 whether he’d consider pulling troops out of Italy and Spain, Trump said, "Yeah, probably. ... Why shouldn't I?"
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03 ABC News The U.S. has announced a decision to pull 5,000 military personnel from Germany and Trump has threatened to withdraw more troops from Italy and Spain over their stance on the war.
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04 USA Today Some users empathized with Rubio, including one who said, "In all seriousness, what does one get the pope? Like, is there a dollar limit? Do we ask the cardinals what they got him?"
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05 Washington Examiner The pope also gifted Rubio “what we in Chicago call a coffee table book” of artwork housed in the Vatican churches and museums.
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06 NPR News Rubio denied the meeting was meant to smooth over relations in a press conference on Tuesday at the White House. "It's a trip we had planned from before," he said, while acknowledging that "obviously, we had some stuff that happened."
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07 Breitbart The news agency Reuters reported that the meeting between the pope and the secretary of state “appeared to have run longer than planned,” as Pope Leo was late to his subsequent engagement.
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08 Washington Times “I reaffirm my support for every action and word of Pope Leo; his words are a testament to dialogue, the value of human life, and freedom. This is a vision shared by our government, which is committed through diplomacy to ensuring stability and peace in all areas where conflicts exist,” Mr. Tajani wrote.
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09 Associated Press An Associated Press investigation finds a business known for tough-love boarding schools for rebellious teenagers has set its sights on a different demographic: adopted kids. Adoptees account for an estimated 25-40% of those in residential treatment. (AP Video: Mary Conlon; Serginho Roosblad; Austin Johnson; Sally Ho. Animations: Marshall Ritzel)
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