US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's meeting with Pope Leo on Thursday will include a "frank conversation" about Trump administration policies, the US ambassador to the Holy See said on Tuesday.
"Nations have disagreements, and I think one of the ways that you work through those is ... through fraternity and authentic dialogue," Brian Burch said.
"I think the Secretary is coming here in that spirit," Burch told journalists. "To have a frank conversation about US policy, to engage in dialogue."
Trump has repeatedly disparaged the first US-born pope in recent weeks, drawing a backlash from Christian leaders across the political spectrum.
In his latest comments, Trump told right-wing radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt that "the Pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good.
"I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people. But I guess if it’s up to the Pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.
Leo has never said Iran should have nuclear weapons, but has opposed the war which Trump says is aimed at ending Iran's nuclear programme.
Burch was asked after an event hosted by his embassy at Rome's Gregorian University on Tuesday if Rubio was hoping to repair the relationship between Trump and Leo.
"I don't accept the idea that somehow there's some deep rift," the ambassador responded. Rubio is coming, Burch said, so that the U.S. and the Vatican can "better understand each other, and to work through, if there are differences, certainly to talk through that."
Few weeks ago Trump attacked Pope Leo over the Catholic leader’s anti-war rhetoric, calling him “weak on crime, weak on nuclear weapons” and “terrible for foreign policy.” That came after Leo wrote on X that “God does not bless any conflict.”
“Leo should be thankful,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, arguing that “he wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
Trump also shared an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like figure. Following rebukes from religious circles and some of his political allies, Trump removed the image.
Rubio is also set to meet in Rome on Friday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who defended the Pope. Her defense minister has said the war in Iran puts U.S. leadership at risk.
The US President also dismissed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — who has been one of his closest European allies — as lacking courage after she defended the pontiff.
The pope responded to Trump’s criticism by saying he had “no fear” of the White House and would not be silenced.
Rubio met with Leo, the first American pope, in May last year, alongside U.S. Vice President JD Vance after the two attended the new pontiff’s inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
Leo, who marks his first year as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church on Friday, maintained a relatively low profile on the global stage in the first months of his papacy but has emerged in recent weeks as a firm critic of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
The pope has also sharply criticised the Trump administration's hard-line anti-immigration policies and called for dialogue between the U.S. and Catholic-majority Cuba to prevent violence.
