Pope Francis ‘refuses’ to meet with US Secretary of State after criticism of Vatican’s controversial China deal

Pope Francis has reportedly refused to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his visit to Rome over a dispute between the Vatican and China.

Mr Pompeo plans to visit the Vatican this week to protest the imminent renewal of a two-year-old deal between the Catholic church and China, which the secretary of state has claimed would endanger the church’s moral authority.