Friday 29 October 2021
US President meets Francis
Pope and Biden avoid the question of abortion
Joe Biden is only the second Catholic US President after Kennedy. His private audience with the Pope lasts longer than an hour. However, the avowed proponent of abortion and Francis make a wide berth around the topic with the potential for religious warfare.
Before the G20 summit in the Italian capital Rome, US President Joe Biden was received by Pope Francis for a private audience. The President – a devout Catholic – accompanied by his wife Jill and the head of the Catholic Church met in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican for more than an hour. According to the White House, Biden paid tribute to the Pope for his “leadership role in the fight against the climate crisis” and his commitment to an end to the corona pandemic “for all through the sharing of vaccines” as well as a “fair global economic recovery.” President Biden thanked His Holiness for her commitment to the world’s poor and those suffering from hunger, conflict and persecution, “the White House said.
It was the fourth meeting of the two men, but the first for Biden since he was elected to the White House. The 78-year-old is only the second Catholic US President after John F. Kennedy. He speaks frequently about his faith and attends church regularly. But because he also advocates women’s right to abortion, there are tensions with the Catholic Church.
Pope sees abortion as “murder”
The American Catholic Bishops’ Conference last summer voted for a text that could mean that politicians who advocate abortion rights will be refused communion. Pope Francis had declared at the time that it was not the task of the church to interfere in politics. At the same time, the 84-year-old made his rejection of abortions clear, which he describes as “murder”.
The controversial issue was not mentioned in the official announcement of the audience or in the White House statement following the Pope’s meeting with Biden. The meeting took place behind closed doors, and live images were canceled at short notice – as was the case for the previous meeting of the Pope with the South Korean head of state Moon Jae In.
Biden flew to Rome on Thursday for the G20 summit starting on Saturday. His program for Friday also included meetings with the Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Mario Draghi and French President Emmanuel Macron. The encounter with Macron was considered particularly important: A submarine deal with Australia had triggered a serious diplomatic crisis between France and the USA in September. On Monday, Biden will travel to the UN climate conference COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.