US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Italy this week to meet with Pope Leo, a Vatican source said, as President Donald Trump’s attacks on the pope drew criticism across the political spectrum.
The meeting, which is the first known face-to-face between Leo and a US cabinet official in nearly a year, is expected to take place on Thursday, said a senior source familiar with the pope’s plans.
The pope, who is American, has emerged in recent weeks as a vocal critic of the US-led wars with Israel and Iran, after previously criticizing the Trump administration’s tough anti-immigration policies.
Trump lashed out at Leo on social media several times in April, at one point calling the pope “nasty”, in attacks that drew attention while Leo was on a four-nation tour of Africa.
