VATICAN CITY — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday. The closed door meeting is expected to last about half an hour.
President Donald Trump has continued a series of public attacks on the pope over the Iran war. On Monday, Trump falsely suggested the pope believed it was acceptable for Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. Trump also said Leo was endangering a lot of Catholics by opposing the war.
Pope Leo told journalists after the latest attack that he is spreading the Christian message of peace. The pope firmly rejected the idea that he supported nuclear weapons. The Catholic Church teaches that nuclear arms are immoral.
"The mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace," the pope said. "The Church has spoken out for years against all nuclear arms. On that there is no doubt."
Leo became the first US pope one year ago on Friday. He has grown more outspoken on the world stage in recent weeks. During an African tour last month he said the world was being ravaged by a handful of tyrants. He later said the comments were not aimed directly at Trump.
Rubio is Catholic. Vice President JD Vance is also Catholic. The two met Pope Leo a year ago after attending the pope's inaugural mass.
Rubio said at a White House briefing on Tuesday that he expects to discuss Cuba and religious freedom concerns with the pope. The US ambassador to the Holy See said the conversation is likely to be frank.
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