Link: https://apnews.com/article/rubio-trump-pope-leo-italy-vatican-8f5b900912e02ac6f3b93e173e01ea74

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome and Vatican City this week in a bid to ease rising tensions between Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over U.S. policies, particularly the Iran war.

The State Department said Monday that Rubio, a Catholic who with this trip will have visited Italy or the Vatican at least three times as the Republican president’s top diplomat, would be in Italy on Thursday and Friday. The Vatican announced that Rubio would meet with Leo, the first American pontiff, on Thursday.

"According to insider reports, the Vatican repeatedly rejected the offer to host VP Couchfucker before finally accepting a visit from Rubio. A spokesperson refused to comment about the rejections."