May 7 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Thursday with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, a moment of diplomacy in the wake of President Donald Trump's repeated attacks on the Catholic leader.
Rubio and the pope talked about "the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said, The Washington Post reported.
"The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity," Pigott said.
The meeting, which was a little more than 2 hours long, was not open to the press. There has been tension between the White House and the Vatican in recent months, with Trump directing insults at the pope and the pontiff (who is the first U.S.-born pope) criticizing the United States' actions in the Middle East.
Rubio also met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Pigott said Rubio and Parolin talked about "mutual cooperation and pressing international issues" and efforts "to achieve a durable peace inthe Middle East," CBS News reported.
