Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. AP 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.
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.
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 conversation in St. Peter’s Basilica — both there for Pope Francis’ funeral — not long after their very public spat in the Oval Office?
It should surprise no one that Pope Leo is an echo chamber for peace: He holds the position of Vicar of Christ on Earth, and his message will reflect that.
A hallmark of Christ’s ministry was his emphasis on peace and the protection of the most vulnerable.
Where would the world be without a public figure to carry it on?
His job is not to write the Trump administration’s foreign policy platform, and Catholics of good will can and will disagree about how best to secure peace on Earth — and when and how the use of force can be justified.
This means at times that Catholics — unlike on matters of truth and dogma — may even disagree with the Holy Father when he weighs in.
These matters are called prudential policy matters, and the Church gives great latitude to the laity in how they approach them.
I, for example, did not agree with Pope Francis that the “increasing use and power of air conditioning” was harmful.
But it’s also wrong to suggest — and all the more concerning when it’s Catholics who do it — that the Holy Father, or any Catholic, should stay out of politics.
The pope is not a political figure, but he will make pronouncements and statements that are entangled with politics.
Politics and religion, while different domains, do not exist in vacuums, and our political order is built on the understanding that religion is a force for good in a free society.
Rubio, a practicing Catholic, walks a tricky line this week, as the face of the Trump administration’s foreign policy meets with the man who is his spiritual authority.
Some might cite the Book of Matthew 6:24, which says: “No one can serve two masters.”
The United States and the Vatican have a mutual interest and a shared goal of global peace and stability.
They are a stronger force for good when they work harmoniously, even when at times they disagree.
Rubio’s task is to repair that relationship and restore that shared vision.
Ashley McGuire is a senior fellow with the Catholic Association and co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show “Conversations with Consequences.”
