Rubio to meet Pope Leo on Thursday

VATICAN CITY, May 3: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Italy this week to meet with Pope Leo, a Vatican source said on Sunday, as President Donald Trump's attacks against the Catholic pontiff have drawn criticism across the political spectrum.
The meeting, the first known in-person encounter between Leo and a US cabinet official in nearly a year, is expected to take place on Thursday, said a senior source familiar with the pope's plans, who asked not to be named as they were not authorised to speak on the matter.
The pope, who has taken on a forceful new speaking style, emerged in recent weeks as an outspoken critic of the US-Israeli led war with Iran, after previously criticising the Trump administration's hard-line anti-immigration policies.    �"REUTERS