The secretary of state is set to travel to Italy this week, a Vatican official said. Observers view the trip as an attempt to patch up ties with the Vatican and Italy.

At the Vatican, the Anglican archbishop met a pope who has signaled no intention to change Catholic doctrine to allow ordaining women.

Italian officials expressed no interest in a substitution that would give Italy’s national team a charitable berth after failing to qualify for the tournament.

Pope Leo XIV shed his previous image as he denounced war in the Middle East and responded assertively to criticism by President Donald Trump.

Veteran church observers say an open war of words between a pope and a U.S. president is unprecedented.

Leo’s early papacy has been defined largely by his response to President Donald Trump but a 10-day trip, starting Monday, will let the pope focus on spreading the faith.

The Chicago-born pope suggested fellow Americans call their congressional representatives and ask for peace, not war.

“Let those who have weapons lay them down!” the first American pope declared. The White House’s war in Iran and nativist agenda at home are testing the Vatican.

Some Trump aides and supporters cloak the war on Iran in religious terms, but the Chicago-born pope said that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.”

Italy blocked U.S. use of a base, the latest instance of European nations refusing deeper involvement in the war despite U.S. threats of backing away from NATO.

In a rare about-face, the move by Israeli police to block Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from the holiest site in Christianity was reversed after criticism.

The administration had threatened to punish countries that attempted to break the blockade, which was aimed at weakening the communist government.