Rubio to Italy – to break the ice with the Pope

TT

Published 13.54

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House in Washington DC in April. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/AP/TT

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Italy this week, Italian media report.

The trip comes after Donald Trump's verbal attacks on Pope Leo.

On Thursday, Pope Leo XIV will receive Catholic Marco Rubio in the Vatican, sources for La Repubblica, among others, say.

Italian media describe it as an attempt to melt the ice after the Trump administration's latest statements. The president has claimed, among other things, that the Pope thinks it is "okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons" and that Leo "is a jerk to the radical left". Vice President JD Vance has urged the Pope to be "cautious" when he speaks out on theology.

Trump has also criticized Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of his closest allies in Europe, after she came to the Pope's defense.

Rubio's visit will take place on May 7-8, according to Italian media.