Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) shakes hands with Pope Francis.Photo: Vatican Media via AP
Vatican spokesman Matteo Brunitold the Associated Pressthe meeting “lasted about 40 minutes,” and “played out in a cordial atmosphere.” Bruni added that the interaction allowed the Pope, 84, “to recall his2015 visit” to the U.S.," when he met with former President Barack Obama.
Pope Francis (left), Secretary of State Antony Blinken.Vatican Media via AP
According to the State Department, Blinken and Pope Francis discussed “China as well as the humanitarian crises in Lebanon, Syria, the Tigray region of Ethiopia, and Venezuela.” The statement added that the two also discussed climate change, an issue the Vatican has made a priority in recent years.
In May,John Kerry- the Biden administration’s special envoy on climate change - also visited the Vatican tomeet with Francisand discuss the world’s efforts to quell the growing environmental crisis.
“The Pope is one of the great voices of reason and compelling moral authority on the subject of the climate crisis,” Kerry, 77, said in a Vatican Newsinterviewfollowing the meeting. “He’s been ahead of the curve. He’s been a leader.”
The AP reports that, prior to sitting down for a closed-door conversation with Francis, Blinken also took a private tour of the Sistine Chapel.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited the Vatican in 2020, but the Popedeclined to meet with him,TheNew York Timesreported at the time.
Pompeo’s appearance followed a 2017 meeting in which former PresidentDonald Trump, along with members of his family and political inner circle, shared a private audience with the Pontiff.
The meeting between Francis and Blinken comes amid a contentious moment within the hierarchy of the Catholic church, which is mulling whether to draft a new guideline that would recommend banning pro-choice politicians, like PresidentJoe Biden, from receiving communion.
Religious officials announced recently that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had voted 168-55 in favor of moving forward with a process to draft “a formal statement on the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church.”
Biden, 78, is the nation’s second Catholic president and would be among those the church would recommend not serving communion due to his pro-choice stance.
source: people.com
