{"id":124140,"date":"2026-05-08T08:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/marco-rubios-meeting-with-pope-leo-was-as-awkward-as-one-might-expect\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T08:30:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:30:26","slug":"marco-rubios-meeting-with-pope-leo-was-as-awkward-as-one-might-expect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/marco-rubios-meeting-with-pope-leo-was-as-awkward-as-one-might-expect\/","title":{"rendered":"Marco Rubio\u2019s meeting with Pope Leo was as awkward as one might expect"},"content":{"rendered":"


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On the eve of his one-year anniversary as head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV received Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican. The meeting was not the result of an invitation extended by the pope, but followed a request made by the United States. In an\u00a0exchange of gifts<\/a>\u00a0after the meeting, the Catholic Rubio gifted the first U.S.-born pope with a glass football etched with the logo of the secretary of state.\u00a0 Pope Leo reciprocated by giving the Rubio a pen of cedarwood, which is a symbol of peace.<\/p>\n

Pope Leo\u2019s response to what amounted to a glass football paperweight from Rubio? \u201cWow. OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A glass football isn\u2019t the most thoughtful gift for a native Chicagoan who is a fan of baseball\u2019s White Sox.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

I\u2019m sure Rubio got the hint. A glass football isn\u2019t the most thoughtful gift for a native Chicagoan who is such a fan of baseball\u2019s White Sox that he even wore the team\u2019s black cap with white lettering<\/a> at the Vatican. But Rubio\u2019s gift is emblematic of the fragile, fumbling relationship President Donald Trump and his administration have with Pope Leo and the Holy See.<\/p>\n

The Holy See put out a brief\u00a0communique<\/a>\u00a0about the meeting with Rubio, stating that \u201ccordial talks renewed the shared commitment to fostering sound bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Christopher Hale, publisher of\u00a0Letters From Leo<\/a>, this is the Vatican\u2019s polite way of saying we agree to disagree.<\/p>\n

Rubio\u2019s visit came on the heels of derogatory remarks about the pope from Trump, who continues to tell the lie that Pope Leo wants Iran to have nuclear weapons. In an interview with Hugh Hewitt, Trump made the claim that Pope Leo is \u201cendangering Catholics and a lot of people<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 Trump made that remark after he\u2019d already made several wildly\u00a0inaccurate<\/a>\u00a0and defamatory statements about the pope.<\/p>\n

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