US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican today, marking the first high-level dialogue between the Trump administration and the Holy See in nearly a year. The private 30-minute audience occurred against a backdrop of intense public friction between the President and the American-born pontiff over the ongoing conflict with Iran. President Trump has repeatedly dismissed the Pope’s calls for peace, arguing that the Vatican fails to grasp the necessity of preventing a nuclear-armed Tehran. Following the meeting, Rubio transitioned to further diplomatic talks with senior Vatican diplomat Cardinal Pietro Parolin in an effort to manage the deepening divide.
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