Latest news with #Alitalia
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Who wept for these people?' Francis's papacy was defined by compassion for refugees
On a glorious spring day almost a decade ago, an Airbus A320 took off from Mytilene airport on the Greek island of Lesbos. For what seemed like an age, a small group of bystanders, including officials and the media, watched in disbelief until the plane veered left over the sun-speckled Aegean Sea and its Alitalia livery could no longer be discerned. On board was Pope Francis, who had spent barely five hours on Lesbos, then at the centre of the refugee crisis on Europe's eastern fringes. The whirlwind tour had been replete with symbolism but it was the pontiff's fellow travellers who had caused such surprise. Moments after the head of the Roman Catholic Church had entered the aircraft, 12 refugees had also appeared, cheerfully making their way across the runway with expressions of stunned relief, their first taste of freedom after incarceration in the island's notorious 'reception' centre. 'The pope has desired to make a gesture of welcome regarding refugees, accompanying on his plane to Rome three families from Syria, 12 people in all, including six children,' said a spokesperson from the Holy See. 'Two families come from Damascus, and one from Deir ez-Zor. Their homes had been bombed. The Vatican will take responsibility for bringing in and maintaining [them].' It was 16 April 2016. Francis had assumed the papacy three years, one month and four days earlier. By the time of his visit to the Greek outpost more than 1 million people had traversed Lesbos on their way to Europe, mostly from Syria but also from other parts of Asia and Africa. The island had become synonymous with the biggest mass movement of men, women and children since the second world war; its rocky shores and sandy beaches covered with hundreds of thousands of lifejackets and broken rubber boats – the detritus of survival and death. Local officials had lost count of those who had perished in its waters. 'Before they are numbers, refugees are first and foremost human beings,' the pope told assembled dignitaries, who included the ecumenical patriarch, Bartholomew I, the leader of the world's Orthodox faithful, before throwing a wreath into the sea to commemorate those who had lost their lives to it. The oldest child of Italians who migrated to Argentina, the former Jesuit priest had, from the start, made the defence of refugees a cornerstone of his papacy, ensuring in July 2013 that his first pastoral trip outside Rome was to the remote island of Lampedusa. The tiny rocky strip had emerged as a magnet for smuggling rings bringing people across the Mediterranean from north Africa. In what would be described as a spur-of-the-moment decision, Francis elected to visit the island in the wake of migrant deaths in a fatal crossing. Residents who cried 'viva il Papa' as he was whisked round in an open-topped Fiat voiced incredulity that the Catholic leader would choose to travel to the farthest reaches of Italy for an official tour dedicated solely to migrants and refugees. But the pilgrimage had a goal. For Francis it amounted to the symbolic embrace of something much wider; the beginning of a pontificate that deliberately sought to minister to the marginalised and poor. In Lampedusa – as in Lesbos three years later – the pope was as determined to express compassion for the living as for those who had died embarking on perilous journeys. 'Who wept for these people who were aboard the boat?' he asked during an open-air mass after tossing a wreath into the sea in their memory. 'For the young mothers who brought their babies? For these men who wanted to support their families? We are a society that has forgotten how to cry.' Later he would confide that the tragedy in Lampedusa had 'made me feel the duty to travel' in an effort to not only highlight the plight of refugees but 'encourage the seeds of hope that are there'. It was a theme that the progressive reformer would revisit when, as the first pontiff to address the US Congress in 2015, he invoked his family's own immigrant background as he appealed to lawmakers to embrace, rather than fear, refugees. Europe, he repeatedly said, had a moral obligation to support the countries from which migrants hailed. In December 2021 Francis again travelled to the fringes of the continent on a five-day tour that took in Cyprus and Greece. Despite the 'small flocks' of Catholics in both countries, he felt another trip was needed not only to allow him 'to drink from the ancient wellsprings of Europe' but to focus on those landing on their shores. Before he flew to Cyprus he had promised to relocate 50 vulnerable asylum seekers to Italy. But five years after stunning Europe's political elite by flying back to Rome from Lesbos with 12 refugees, it was clear that migration policies, globally, had hardened with governments resorting to increasingly violent methods, including pushbacks, to keep arrivals at bay. While migration remained 'a humanitarian crisis that concerns everyone', the Mediterranean, Francis lamented, had become a 'desolate sea of death', because Europe had failed to heed the lessons from history. Related: 'He felt our pain': Catholic church in Gaza grieves Pope Francis's death 'Please let us stop this shipwreck of civilisation,' he pleaded in an address before the Greek president during a second lightning trip to Lesbos. 'I ask every man and woman, all of us, to overcome the paralysis of fear, the indifference that kills, the cynical disregard that nonchalantly condemns to death those on the fringes.' In Cyprus he went further, condemning the 'slavery' and 'torture' often suffered by refugees. 'It reminds us of the history of the last century of the Nazis, of Stalin,' he said as startled local officials looked on during a prayer service held for immigrants in Nicosia, the island's war-split capital. 'And we wonder how this could have happened.' In the face of such 'cruelty', Francis allowed his language to become more forceful. In 2024 he dubbed the 'systematic work' of governments to deter migrants a 'grave sin.' Earlier this year he rebuked the Trump administration for its migrant crackdown, saying its mass deportation plans amounted to a major crisis that would 'damage the dignity of many men and women'. In an extraordinary step, he berated the vice-president, JD Vance, a Catholic convert – who he would go on to meet on Easter Sunday hours before his death - for his theological defence of deportations. On the peripheries of Europe, the migrant crisis may have somewhat waned, but in Lesbos and other places where people continue to arrive, albeit in smaller numbers, locals and newcomers are now bonded by the knowledge that with Francis' passing they have lost one of their greatest champions yet.
India.com
25-04-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Meet the only person in the world who can travel to any country without a visa, he is..., uses private plane called..., not Trump, British king
(AI image) Vatican City: Is there any person who can go to every country in the world without a visa or passport? Generally, in the world, the kings of Britain and Japan do not need to carry a passport to go anywhere. But there is one person who can travel anywhere in the world at any time without a visa and no country will stop him. This special right or privilege is granted to only one person in the world, who is the head of the world's smallest country and is also considered the leader of the Catholic Christian faith, that is, the Pope. The Pope is regarded as having the most unique and special status. Pope Francis has travelled to more than 50 countries where no visa was required. The Pope generally does not need a visa in most countries of the world. As the head of Vatican City, he is an internationally recognized diplomatic figure. He often holds a diplomatic passport or special status under which he can travel without a visa. The Pope holds a diplomatic passport from the Vatican, which allows him visa-free travel to most countries. When the Pope makes an official visit to a country, the host country usually grants him special exemptions. There may be formalities in some countries for special security or political reasons, but generally, visas are not required for the Pope. Wherever he goes, he is a state guest. The Pope is the head sovereign of Vatican City as well as the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Catholics. His status is distinct from any other king or diplomat, as the Vatican is a religious and diplomatic entity that has full sovereignty under international law. When the Pope visits a country, he is granted the status of a state guest, under which visa and passport regulations do not apply. The Lateran Treaty (1929) between Italy and the Vatican granted the Vatican the status of an independent state, which provided the Pope with full diplomatic immunity. The Vienna Convention (1961) also recognizes the Pope's special status under international treaties. Countries like China and Russia have sometimes placed political conditions on papal visits, but technically visas are not required. The British monarchy does not have this privilege either. The British monarchy is one of the most prestigious diplomatic institutions in the world, but their status is not as special as that of the Pope. The Pope's status is both religious and diplomatic. The Pope is recognized as a religious leader in any country. The Pope has the facility to travel around the world. He does this using his private plane 'Shepherd One.' Although this is not a special or permanent aircraft, the plane that the Pope uses for international travel is referred to as Shepherd One. The name 'Shepherd One' is inspired by the Pope's role, as the Pope is considered the 'Shepherd of God's flock' in the Catholic Church. Shepherd One is usually provided by Alitalia (Italy's national airline) or the main airline of the host country. This aircraft is generally a Boeing 787, Airbus A330, or similar large, long-haul aircraft, specifically configured for the Pope's travels.
The Guardian
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Who wept for these people?' Francis's papacy was defined by compassion for refugees
On a glorious spring day almost a decade ago, an Airbus A320 took off from Mytilene airport on the Greek island of Lesbos. For what seemed like an age, a small group of bystanders, including officials and the media, watched in disbelief until the plane veered left over the sun-speckled Aegean Sea and its Alitalia livery could no longer be discerned. On board was Pope Francis, who had spent barely five hours on Lesbos, then at the centre of the refugee crisis on Europe's eastern fringes. The whirlwind tour had been replete with symbolism but it was the pontiff's fellow travellers who had caused such surprise. Moments after the head of the Roman Catholic Church had entered the aircraft, 12 refugees had also appeared, cheerfully making their way across the runway with expressions of stunned relief, their first taste of freedom after incarceration in the island's notorious 'reception' centre. 'The pope has desired to make a gesture of welcome regarding refugees, accompanying on his plane to Rome three families from Syria, 12 people in all, including six children,' said a spokesperson from the Holy See. 'Two families come from Damascus, and one from Deir ez-Zor. Their homes had been bombed. The Vatican will take responsibility for bringing in and maintaining [them].' It was 16 April 2016. Francis had assumed the papacy three years, one month and four days earlier. By the time of his visit to the Greek outpost more than 1 million people had traversed Lesbos on their way to Europe, mostly from Syria but also from other parts of Asia and Africa. The island had become synonymous with the biggest mass movement of men, women and children since the second world war; its rocky shores and sandy beaches covered with hundreds of thousands of lifejackets and broken rubber boats – the detritus of survival and death. Local officials had lost count of those who had perished in its waters. 'Before they are numbers, refugees are first and foremost human beings,' the pope told assembled dignitaries, who included the ecumenical patriarch, Bartholomew I, the leader of the world's Orthodox faithful, before throwing a wreath into the sea to commemorate those who had lost their lives to it. The oldest child of Italians who migrated to Argentina, the former Jesuit priest had, from the start, made the defence of refugees a cornerstone of his papacy, ensuring in July 2013 that his first pastoral trip outside Rome was to the remote island of Lampedusa. The tiny rocky strip had emerged as a magnet for smuggling rings bringing people across the Mediterranean from north Africa. In what would be described as a spur-of-the-moment decision, Francis elected to visit the island in the wake of migrant deaths in a fatal crossing. Residents who cried 'viva il Papa' as he was whisked round in an open-topped Fiat voiced incredulity that the Catholic leader would choose to travel to the farthest reaches of Italy for an official tour dedicated solely to migrants and refugees. But the pilgrimage had a goal. For Francis it amounted to the symbolic embrace of something much wider; the beginning of a pontificate that deliberately sought to minister to the marginalised and poor. In Lampedusa – as in Lesbos three years later – the pope was as determined to express compassion for the living as for those who had died embarking on perilous journeys. 'Who wept for these people who were aboard the boat?' he asked during an open-air mass after tossing a wreath into the sea in their memory. 'For the young mothers who brought their babies? For these men who wanted to support their families? We are a society that has forgotten how to cry.' Later he would confide that the tragedy in Lampedusa had 'made me feel the duty to travel' in an effort to not only highlight the plight of refugees but 'encourage the seeds of hope that are there'. It was a theme that the progressive reformer would revisit when, as the first pontiff to address the US Congress in 2015, he invoked his family's own immigrant background as he appealed to lawmakers to embrace, rather than fear, refugees. Europe, he repeatedly said, had a moral obligation to support the countries from which migrants hailed. In December 2021 Francis again travelled to the fringes of the continent on a five-day tour that took in Cyprus and Greece. Despite the 'small flocks' of Catholics in both countries, he felt another trip was needed not only to allow him 'to drink from the ancient wellsprings of Europe' but to focus on those landing on their shores. Before he flew to Cyprus he had promised to relocate 50 vulnerable asylum seekers to Italy. But five years after stunning Europe's political elite by flying back to Rome from Lesbos with 12 refugees, it was clear that migration policies, globally, had hardened with governments resorting to increasingly violent methods, including pushbacks, to keep arrivals at bay. While migration remained 'a humanitarian crisis that concerns everyone', the Mediterranean, Francis lamented, had become a 'desolate sea of death', because Europe had failed to heed the lessons from history. 'Please let us stop this shipwreck of civilisation,' he pleaded in an address before the Greek president during a second lightning trip to Lesbos. 'I ask every man and woman, all of us, to overcome the paralysis of fear, the indifference that kills, the cynical disregard that nonchalantly condemns to death those on the fringes.' In Cyprus he went further, condemning the 'slavery' and 'torture' often suffered by refugees. 'It reminds us of the history of the last century of the Nazis, of Stalin,' he said as startled local officials looked on during a prayer service held for immigrants in Nicosia, the island's war-split capital. 'And we wonder how this could have happened.' In the face of such 'cruelty', Francis allowed his language to become more forceful. In 2024 he dubbed the 'systematic work' of governments to deter migrants a 'grave sin.' Earlier this year he rebuked the Trump administration for its migrant crackdown, saying its mass deportation plans amounted to a major crisis that would 'damage the dignity of many men and women'. In an extraordinary step, he berated the vice-president, JD Vance, a Catholic convert – who he would go on to meet on Easter Sunday hours before his death - for his theological defence of deportations. On the peripheries of Europe, the migrant crisis may have somewhat waned, but in Lesbos and other places where people continue to arrive, albeit in smaller numbers, locals and newcomers are now bonded by the knowledge that with Francis' passing they have lost one of their greatest champions yet.
USA Today
23-04-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
When the pope met the president: Francis' meetings with Obama, Biden and Trump
When the pope met the president: Francis' meetings with Obama, Biden and Trump Show Caption Hide Caption Pope Francis' relations with three US presidents: Obama, Trump, Biden During the dozen years that Pope Francis served as the pontiff, he met each of the three men who served as the U.S. president during his papacy. WASHINGTON – Barack Obama was moved by Pope Francis' moral perspective on world problems. Donald Trump said the pontiff made him more determined than ever to pursue peace. And Joe Biden said Francis was happy he was a good Catholic. There was a time when the idea of a president meeting with a pope would have been unthinkable. Anti-immigrant sentiments in the 19th century focused on Catholics, with popes portrayed as manipulative leaders of a mysterious fringe religion. But times change. So do popes and presidents. By the time Francis took over as leader of the Catholic Church in 2013, meetings between the president and the pontiff had become commonplace. During the dozen years that he served as the pontiff, Francis, who died April 21, met each of the three men who served as the U.S. president during his papacy. The pope's confabs with the American leaders took place at the Vatican and in Washington and included presidents from both political parties. Obama 'extremely moved' by Francis' insights on world problems Francis had been pope just a little over a year when he met with Obama for the first time in Rome in March 2014. The two leaders didn't see eye to eye on some issues. The church opposed same-sex marriage, which Obama supported. And the Vatican objected to the Affordable Care Act's mandate that Catholic hospitals and institutions provide health plans that cover contraceptive drugs and abortion-inducing medications, such as morning-after pills, which the church opposed on moral grounds. But Obama said those issues didn't come up during his meeting with Francis that came about midway through his second term in the White House. Champion of religious solidarity: Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist leaders mourn Pope Francis death They talked instead about international conflict, human rights and religious freedom and 'the responsibilities that we all share to care for the least of these, the poor, the excluded," Obama said. "I was extremely moved by his insights about the importance of us all having a moral perspective on world problems and not simply thinking in terms of our own narrow self-interests,' Obama added. Obama invited the pope to visit the United States. The next year, he did. On Sept. 22, 2015, Pope Francis' gleaming white Alitalia plane – colloquially known as "Shepherd One" – touched down at Joint Base Andrews just outside of Washington as the pontiff began a historic six-day, three-city visit. It was the first time Francis had set foot on American soil. The Spanish-speaking pope arrived in the United States via Cuba, where he had met with Fidel Castro in what the Vatican described as an 'informal and friendly' encounter. When did Pope Francis die: A brief timeline from hospitalization to final appearance and death In Washington, Francis waved to cheering crowds, embraced children and basked in the pageantry of an official arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn. Standing alongside Obama before a crowd of politicians, luminaries and ordinary citizens, Francis endorsed Obama's efforts to cut air pollution and combat climate change. 'When it comes to the care of our 'common home,' we are living at a critical moment of history,' he said. How did Pope Francis die? Catholic leader had been hospitalized with double pneumonia Obama said Francis reminded the world that 'we have a sacred obligation to protect our planet – God's magnificent gift to us.' The next day, Francis made history when he became the first pope to address a joint session of Congress. Outside the U.S. Capitol, a crowd estimated at 50,000 watched the pope's speech live on Jumbotrons. The masses cheered when he invoked Martin Luther King Jr.'s Freedom March from Selma to Montgomery and urged lawmakers to embrace 'the stranger in our midst.' A few minutes after wrapping up his speech, Pope Francis appeared on a Capitol balcony with a group of dignitaries that included two prominent Catholics, Biden and House Speaker John Boehner. The pontiff blessed the masses below and asked them to pray for him. Trump battles with 'pretty good guy' Pope Francis Trump feuded with Pope Francis long before he ever met him. A few days after Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected in 2013 to be the next pope of the Catholic Church, Trump, then a businessman and TV reality star, questioned the frugality of the man who would become known as Pope Francis. "I don't like seeing the Pope standing at the checkout counter (front desk) of a hotel in order to pay his bill," Trump tweeted. "It's not Pope-like!" By the time Trump declared his candidacy and emerged as the GOP frontrunner two years later in 2015, he declared that the pope 'seems like a pretty good guy' but complained that he was too political. Asked during an interview on CNN how he'd respond if the pope told him capitalism was too toxic, he replied, 'I'd say, 'ISIS wants to get you.'' A few months later, Trump said the pope doesn't understand the problems the United States faces, particularly the open border with Mexico. The pope suggested Trump "is not a Christian' amid the Republican's calls for deporting immigrants and building a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. 'Loving pastor, challenging teacher': Catholics across the US mourn Pope Francis' death "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian," he told journalists. "This is not the gospel." Trump responded that the pontiff's remarks were 'disgraceful.' Four months after Trump became president, he met with Francis as part of his first trip abroad as leader of the free world. The private meeting took place on May 24, 2017, at Vatican City. Pope Francis dies at 88 years old one day after Easter Sunday Pope Francis, the first pope born outside of Europe in over a millennia, has died. Photos before their meeting showed Trump smiling broadly, while the pope appeared stern. However, the pontiff emerged from their talk with a more upbeat look. The pope gave Trump a signed-and-bound copy of his remarks from World Peace Day and a set of English-language translations of his papal writings, including his 2015 encyclical on climate change. 'I'll be reading them,' said Trump, a climate change skeptic. 'We can use peace," he added. Timeline: As President Trump meets Pope Francis at the Vatican, a timeline of their history Trump later tweeted: "Honor of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world.' The Vatican, in a statement, expressed hope that the encounter would be the start of a 'serene collaboration' with the Trump administration. Biden to Pope Francis: 'God love ya!' Biden had already met Pope Francis three times before becoming president. In 2013, when Biden was vice president, he led the U.S. delegation to Francis' formal installation as pope. The two men met again when the pontiff visited the United States in 2015 and when Biden visited the Vatican in 2016 to speak about cancer prevention at a conference on regenerative medicine By 2021, Biden was president. A devout Catholic who attends Mass regularly and carried rosary beads that belonged to his deceased son Beau, Biden faced serious concerns among some U.S. Catholic bishops over his support for abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Some conservative bishops questioned whether Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be allowed to receive Communion. 'May God rest his soul': How the world is reacting to the death of Pope Francis Nine months after Biden took office, he met with Francis at the Vatican on Oct. 30, 2021, while he was in Rome for the Group of 20 summit of world leaders. The meeting with the pope was closed to the press, but Biden said abortion never came up during their conversation and that Francis told him he should continue to receive Communion. "We just talked about the fact he was happy that I was a good Catholic, and I should keep receiving Communion,' Biden said. Biden said the pope blessed his rosary and that he said a prayer with the pontiff. "And he said one for me," he said. Biden also joked about their ages. At the time, he was 78 and Francis was 84, but Biden suggested they both felt a lot younger. "God love ya!" Biden told the pope, using one of his familiar expressions that took on greater significant at the Vatican. A 'son of immigrants': Pope Francis leaves lasting legacy The meeting lasted for nearly an hour and half, longer than Francis' meetings with Obama and Trump. Biden had planned to meet with Francis again the weekend before his presidential term ended in January. But he canceled the trip so he could remain in the United States and focus on wildfires in Los Angeles. Contributing: David Jackson Follow Michael Collins on X @mcollinsNEWS.
The Herald Scotland
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
A look at Pope Francis' meetings with Obama, Trump and Biden
By the time Francis took over as leader of the Catholic Church in 2013, meetings between the president and the pontiff had become commonplace. During the dozen years that he served as the pontiff, Francis, who died April 21, met each of the three men who served as the U.S. president during his papacy. The pope's confabs with the American leaders took place at the Vatican and in Washington and included presidents from both political parties. Obama 'extremely moved' by Francis' insights on world problems Francis had been pope just a little over a year when he met with Obama for the first time in Rome in March 2014. The two leaders didn't see eye to eye on some issues. The church opposed same-sex marriage, which Obama supported. And the Vatican objected to the Affordable Care Act's mandate that Catholic hospitals and institutions provide health plans that cover contraceptive drugs and abortion-inducing medications, such as morning-after pills, which the church opposed on moral grounds. But Obama said those issues didn't come up during his meeting with Francis that came about midway through his second term in the White House. Champion of religious solidarity: Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist leaders mourn Pope Francis death They talked instead about international conflict, human rights and religious freedom and "the responsibilities that we all share to care for the least of these, the poor, the excluded," Obama said. "I was extremely moved by his insights about the importance of us all having a moral perspective on world problems and not simply thinking in terms of our own narrow self-interests," Obama added. Obama invited the pope to visit the United States. The next year, he did. On Sept. 22, 2015, Pope Francis' gleaming white Alitalia plane - colloquially known as "Shepherd One" - touched down at Joint Base Andrews just outside of Washington as the pontiff began a historic six-day, three-city visit. It was the first time Francis had set foot on American soil. The Spanish-speaking pope arrived in the United States via Cuba, where he had met with Fidel Castro in what the Vatican described as an "informal and friendly" encounter. When did Pope Francis die: A brief timeline from hospitalization to final appearance and death In Washington, Francis waved to cheering crowds, embraced children and basked in the pageantry of an official arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn. Standing alongside Obama before a crowd of politicians, luminaries and ordinary citizens, Francis endorsed Obama's efforts to cut air pollution and combat climate change. "When it comes to the care of our 'common home,' we are living at a critical moment of history," he said. How did Pope Francis die? Catholic leader had been hospitalized with double pneumonia Obama said Francis reminded the world that "we have a sacred obligation to protect our planet - God's magnificent gift to us." The next day, Francis made history when he became the first pope to address a joint session of Congress. Outside the U.S. Capitol, a crowd estimated at 50,000 watched the pope's speech live on Jumbotrons. The masses cheered when he invoked Martin Luther King Jr.'s Freedom March from Selma to Montgomery and urged lawmakers to embrace "the stranger in our midst." A few minutes after wrapping up his speech, Pope Francis appeared on a Capitol balcony with a group of dignitaries that included two prominent Catholics, Biden and House Speaker John Boehner. The pontiff blessed the masses below and asked them to pray for him. Trump battles with 'pretty good guy' Pope Francis Trump feuded with Pope Francis long before he ever met him. A few days after Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected in 2013 to be the next pope of the Catholic Church, Trump, then a businessman and TV reality star, questioned the frugality of the man who would become known as Pope Francis. "I don't like seeing the Pope standing at the checkout counter (front desk) of a hotel in order to pay his bill," Trump tweeted. "It's not Pope-like!" By the time Trump declared his candidacy and emerged as the GOP frontrunner two years later in 2015, he declared that the pope "seems like a pretty good guy" but complained that he was too political. Asked during an interview on CNN how he'd respond if the pope told him capitalism was too toxic, he replied, "I'd say, 'ISIS wants to get you.'" A few months later, Trump said the pope doesn't understand the problems the United States faces, particularly the open border with Mexico. The pope suggested Trump "is not a Christian" amid the Republican's calls for deporting immigrants and building a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. 'Loving pastor, challenging teacher': Catholics across the US mourn Pope Francis' death "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian," he told journalists. "This is not the gospel." Trump responded that the pontiff's remarks were "disgraceful." Four months after Trump became president, he met with Francis as part of his first trip abroad as leader of the free world. The private meeting took place on May 24, 2017, at Vatican City. Photos before their meeting showed Trump smiling broadly, while the pope appeared stern. However, the pontiff emerged from their talk with a more upbeat look. The pope gave Trump a signed-and-bound copy of his remarks from World Peace Day and a set of English-language translations of his papal writings, including his 2015 encyclical on climate change. "I'll be reading them," said Trump, a climate change skeptic. "We can use peace," he added. Timeline: As President Trump meets Pope Francis at the Vatican, a timeline of their history Trump later tweeted: "Honor of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world." The Vatican, in a statement, expressed hope that the encounter would be the start of a "serene collaboration" with the Trump administration. Biden to Pope Francis: 'God love ya!' Biden had already met Pope Francis three times before becoming president. In 2013, when Biden was vice president, he led the U.S. delegation to Francis' formal installation as pope. The two men met again when the pontiff visited the United States in 2015 and when Biden visited the Vatican in 2016 to speak about cancer prevention at a conference on regenerative medicine By 2021, Biden was president. A devout Catholic who attends Mass regularly and carried rosary beads that belonged to his deceased son Beau, Biden faced serious concerns among some U.S. Catholic bishops over his support for abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Some conservative bishops questioned whether Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be allowed to receive Communion. 'May God rest his soul': How the world is reacting to the death of Pope Francis Nine months after Biden took office, he met with Francis at the Vatican on Oct. 30, 2021, while he was in Rome for the Group of 20 summit of world leaders. The meeting with the pope was closed to the press, but Biden said abortion never came up during their conversation and that Francis told him he should continue to receive Communion. "We just talked about the fact he was happy that I was a good Catholic, and I should keep receiving Communion," Biden said. Biden said the pope blessed his rosary and that he said a prayer with the pontiff. "And he said one for me," he said. Biden also joked about their ages. At the time, he was 78 and Francis was 84, but Biden suggested they both felt a lot younger. "God love ya!" Biden told the pope, using one of his familiar expressions that took on greater significant at the Vatican. A 'son of immigrants': Pope Francis leaves lasting legacy The meeting lasted for nearly an hour and half, longer than Francis' meetings with Obama and Trump. Biden had planned to meet with Francis again the weekend before his presidential term ended in January. But he canceled the trip so he could remain in the United States and focus on wildfires in Los Angeles. Contributing: David Jackson Follow Michael Collins on X @mcollinsNEWS.
