The administration needs a better relationship with the Vatican

OPINION:

President Reagan formed an alliance with Pope John Paul II in the 1980s that contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

This is a powerful precedent for two world leaders — Pope Leo XIV and President Trump — to work together to oppose evil and seek global peace and stability.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s meeting with the pope on May 7 was a powerful gesture that showed the U.S. government wants a close, cordial relationship with the Vatican. According to the Vatican, both pledged to improve bilateral relations after Mr. Trump accused Leo of being “terrible for foreign policy.” The pope had commented that Mr. Trump’s “threat to destroy Iran’s whole civilization” was “truly unacceptable.”

Francesco Sisci, an Italian sinologist, author and columnist who maintains close ties with the Vatican, said Mr. Rubio’s meeting with the pope went well. He said: “The pope tells the world there’s another America besides the controversial president. The pope’s America is the one the world loves to love. This should be important for the U.S. Active and intense dialogue should follow up this meeting to keep the momentum.”

Yes, to keep the momentum. The Vatican has consistently been opposed to war and nuclear proliferation in favor of peace and stability. Indeed, it was the U.S. after World War II that worked hard to bring peace and stability to a global community exhausted and devastated by the war.

Unfortunately, the Cold War followed, starting with the Korean War. An expansionist Soviet Union was determined to spread communism throughout the world: in Vietnam, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Yemen, Libya, Czechoslovakia, Nicaragua, Grenada and, in 1979, Afghanistan. Fortunately, they failed.

What contributed to the Soviet Union’s defeat was Reagan’s relationship with Pope John Paul II. Both viewed Soviet communism as an evil that denied the Russian people and the Eastern Bloc their human rights and dignity. Indeed, it was Reagan and John Paul II’s first meeting at the Vatican in June 1982 that initiated their close bond.

What followed was a close working relationship that contributed to the defeat of communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The partnership between the U.S. and the Vatican was characterized by intense, behind-the-scenes information sharing about the Soviet Union and coordinating actions in Eastern Europe. The pope provided the spiritual and moral inspiration to the Solidarity movement in Poland, weakening the authority of the Polish communist government.

Both the U.S. and the Vatican sent news into the Soviet Bloc, undermining the communist fake narrative. Indeed, the pope provided the moral voice, and Reagan, the geopolitical pressure.

This partnership peacefully transformed Eastern Europe. Can the partnership of the U.S. and the Vatican be replicated for the war in Iran?

Sharing information with the Vatican on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the killing of more than 30,000 Iranian peaceful protesters earlier this year and the regime’s acts of terrorism, which have killed hundreds of Americans, are just some of the information we can and should share with the Vatican.

Conversely, the Vatican can share its moral options for changing the behavior of an Iranian regime that is viewed as a pariah state by its neighbors and the international community.

A collaborative U.S.-Vatican partnership to address other global issues, such as the wars in Ukraine and Sudan, and the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, could be valuable. If the Vatican was helpful in bringing an end to the Cold War, then why are we not partnering with it on the multitude of ongoing global conflicts?

Hopefully, Mr. Rubio’s meeting with Pope Leo XIV is the beginning of a productive relationship with the Vatican, one that will bring peace and stability to the world.

• The author is a former associate director of national intelligence. All statements of fact, opinion or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the U.S. government. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying U.S. government authentication of information or endorsement of the author’s views.