Aides cite friendly meeting as Rubio aims to mend U.S. ties with Pope Leo

ROME — Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Thursday with Pope Leo XIV with relations between the Vatican and the White House at a low point over President Donald Trump’s repeated, direct criticism of the U.S.-born pontiff, who has emerged as a leading global critic of the war in Iran and of the administration’s invocation of God in pursuing military action that has resulted in the deaths of thousands.