Joe Biden, president of the United States, met privately with Pope Francis on Friday night in Apulia, Italy, at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit, to discuss foreign policy and climate change.
Francis is the first Pope to address the G7 summit, which is an annual meeting of government leaders from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and Italy. The European Union also participates, but is not an official member.
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In a post-meeting statementthe White House said both leaders “emphasized the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire and hostage agreement” in Gaza and the need to “address the critical humanitarian crisis.”
The statement added that “Biden thanked Pope Francis for the Vatican’s work to address the humanitarian impacts of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, including its efforts to help return kidnapped Ukrainian children to their families.”
“President Biden also reaffirmed his deep gratitude for the Pope’s tireless advocacy for the poor and those suffering persecution, the effects of climate change, and conflict around the world,” according to the statement.
In the morning, before the meeting, a senior Biden administration official said during a press conference that the American president planned to discuss issues of the Middle East and Ukraine with the Pontiff. Regarding Ukraine, the official said that “the Holy See has been actively engaged” in this issue.
“Cardinal (Matteo) Zuppi, in particular, has been an envoy who has worked to return Ukrainian children who have been forcibly deported across the border, separated from their families,” the official added. “Of course, it is one of the great tragedies of this war. And the Holy See has also committed to trying to promote a peace agreement.”
The official said Biden would also discuss climate change, “which is an issue near and dear to both leaders.”
“Of course, the president’s adaptation and resilience plan, which was launched in November 2021, is an important effort to address climate change, as is the Multilateral Loss and Damage Fund to which the United States has contributed 17 .5 million dollars, an important effort to mitigate some of the effects of climate change,” the official said.
Before the scheduled meeting, Biden and other leaders briefly greeted Francis as he arrived at the summit to address officials about concerns related to artificial intelligence (AI). The Pontiff, who has called for global regulations on AI, expressed his fear of artificial intelligence becoming a tool for war and warned against relying too much on AI without human involvement during his speech. Francis has promoted global regulations to ensure that AI is used to promote the common good.
The senior administration official said during the teleconference that Biden would also likely discuss AI with Francis, a topic that has been important to the pontiff over the past year.
“I’ll just say that on AI, I think we’re both interested in the responsible use of artificial intelligence, the preservation of human dignity and human rights,” the official said. “And so they’ll have the opportunity to get into that.”
However, the White House statement after the meeting did not mention AI.
Biden He previously met with Francisco in October 2021 for about 75 minutes to discuss poverty, climate change and other issues. That was Biden’s first in-person meeting with the Pontiff as president, but the two leaders They also spoke on the phone shortly after the presidential election. Biden and Francis too They spoke by phone in October 2023 to talk about the conflict between Israel and Gaza. Biden had met with Francis three times before becoming president.
President stated in 2021after the two met in person, that Francisco told him that “he was a good Catholic and that he should continue taking communion.” The Vatican declined to comment. if the Pope made those comments. However, in July 2022, the Pontiff criticized Biden for the president’s support for abortion, saying it is “incoherent” for a Catholic to be in favor of legal abortion.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has been at odds with the Biden administration on issues related to abortion and gender ideology. The bishops They also criticized the president’s recent border security measures.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Tyler Arnold
Tyler Arnold is a reporter for the National Catholic Register. He previously worked at The Center Square and has published in various outlets, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative and The Federalist.