ROME, Italy (AFP) — The top United States diplomat, Marco Rubio, went to the Vatican on Thursday for talks with the first US pope, Leo XIV, against the backdrop of sharp tensions between the White House and the Vatican.

The US secretary of state’s visit comes after Trump’s extraordinary criticism of Leo, the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, over his anti-war stance.

In an unprecedented attack, Trump last month took to social media to call the pope “WEAK on crime, and terrible for foreign policy.”

His remarks came after Leo called for peace in the Middle East war launched by Israel and the US. He condemned a threat by Trump to destroy Iranian civilization as “truly unacceptable.”