Marco Rubio has a chance to broker peace with the Vatican following Trump and Pope Leos nasty clash
Blessed are the peacemakers.That line, coined by Jesus Christ himself in his Sermon on the Mount, has become a bit of a sticking point between President Donald Trump and the Vatican — and we can safely presume that it’s what Secretary of State Marco Rubio is headed to Rome this week to smooth over.I hope he succeeds.As a Catholic, I was dismayed by the president’s social-media tirade against Pope Leo.For starters, it made no political sense: President Trump boasts strong support from Catholics, who were the difference maker between the 2020 and the 2024 elections.He carried Catholics in 2024 by double digits, a dramatic increase from the prior election.And many of his policy decisions, particularly those bolstering religious freedom, have been a welcome change from the prior administration.Insulting the pope seemed off-key, even for Trump.But more importantly, it was hurtful to Catholics, who are hard-wired to love our Holy Father and view him as a spiritual father figure.Pope Leo, who marks a year in the office this week, has proven to have a calm and steady hand and a warmth and a quest for unity that’s endearing and inspiring.He’s impossible not to love.The same goes for Marco Rubio, who, safe to say, has most of America charmed.He’s won respect and affection for his deft diplomatic skills, for the endless X memes of his many hats, for the clips of his hyper-articulate theological musings, or for the most recent video of him . . .
DJing a wedding.He really is America’s son — and now he’ll meet with America’s Holy Father.It promises to be good.And I pray it is fruitful because, despite the recent tensions, America’s diplomatic goals are very much aligned with those of the Vatican.The Holy See has served as an essential bastion of diplomacy in the service of peace and the common good over centuries of turbulence, and it continues to do so today.Who can forget the image of Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky alone and deep in conversa...