United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pushed back on comments that President Donald Trump accused Pope Leo XIV of “endangering Catholics” over his stance on the Iran war, saying his early remarks had been mischaracterised.“Well, I don’t think that’s an accurate description of what he said,” Rubio told reporters on Tuesday when asked about Trump’s comments that the pope was “endangering a lot of Catholics”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listRubio said the president’s concern was rooted in the threat Iran could pose to “places that have a lot of Catholics and Christians and others”, and questioned why “anyone would think that it’s a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon”.He also pointed to rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing Tehran of “holding the whole world hostage” and endangering commercial shipping.Trump had earlier criticised the pope in remarks to right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt, suggesting the pontiff was too soft on Tehran.“The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good,” Trump said.“I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people. But I guess if it’s up to the pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” he added.The exchange comes in advance of a meeting between Rubio a …
