Vatican City:
Pope Francis on Monday held talks with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who was going to the Vatican in the wake of a choice by American Catholic bishops that could lead to them denying Communion to President Joe Biden.
Blinken is the highest-ranking Biden administration official the pontiff has met because the inauguration in January.
He held private talks with Pope Francis in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace immediately after getting a separate meeting with Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister.
There was no instant word on the specifics of the talks but Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni stated the atmosphere was cordial.
The stop by follows a conference at which US Roman Catholic bishops voted to draft a statement on Communion that may well admonish Catholic politicians, like Biden, who help a woman’s suitable to abortion regardless of opposing the practice personally.
The bishops decided to move forward with the document, largely disregarding a Vatican warning that it would be hugely divisive.
Bruni stated the meeting “was an occasion for the pope to reminisce about his 2015 trip (to the United States) and to express his affection for and attention to, the people of the United States of America.”
The Vatican and the Biden administration agree on the dangers of climate transform, which was a key point of contention with the White House whilst Donald Trump was president.
Trump was dismissive of the trouble as he dismantled climate policies and regulations on fossil fuels.
The pope criticised Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 Paris accord to limit international warming. The Vatican welcomed Biden’s return to the accord.
Francis, who in May received Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry, has urged nations to work collectively to save the planet.
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