Urgent| Does the American President get… "Forgiveness" On the last trip?

The White House announced that US President Joe Biden will travel to Italy, next month, to hold a public meeting with Pope Francis in Vatican City before the end of his term.

Biden accepted an invitation to visit the Vatican during a phone call with Pope Francis, Thursday, according to the White House. 

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella during the trip. Foreign Affairs. 

The trip is scheduled to last four days in the second week of January, and the meeting between Biden and Pope Francis will be held in front of an audience on January 10. 

Jean-Pierre said : "President Biden will meet with the Pope to discuss efforts to promote peace around the world.

He will also meet with Italian leaders to highlight the strength of the relationship between the United States and Italy, and thank Prime Minister Meloni for her strong leadership of the G7 Over the past year, and to discuss the important challenges facing the world.”

Italy’s position as president of the Group of Seven countries will end in the new year, a position that rotates annually. 

The group of countries includes The seven are a group of the world’s largest advanced economies.

Biden’s trip to meet Pope Francis will come shortly after the Vatican begins its Holy Year on December 24, a centuries-old tradition that occurs every 25 years, as he travels Pilgrims to Rome to visit holy places and receive forgiveness.  

Biden is the country’s second Catholic president after John Kennedy.

 He has met with popes, including Pope Francis, Throughout his political career.

 Pope Francis also made his first official visit to the United States when Biden was Vice President.

Biden’s last meeting with Pope Francis was in June Last, the two discussed the war in Israel and the war waged by Russia against Ukraine. 

The two leaders reportedly stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the need to solidify the hostage agreement during their talks.

p> They also spoke about the ongoing humanitarian impacts of the Russian war against Ukraine, according to the US Embassy in Italy.

The two met in 2021 as well, and this was This is only the second time that an American president other than Kennedy has met with the Pope. During the private conversation, Biden reportedly praised Francis’ leadership “in combating the climate crisis, as well as his call to ensure an end to the pandemic for all through vaccine sharing and an equitable global economic recovery.”

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but there is one area where the two leaders’ views differ markedly: abortion. Because of Biden’s pro-choice stance, many critics, including Catholic bishops, questioned early in his presidency whether Biden could continue to receive the Eucharist. But after the June meeting at the Vatican, Biden said Francis expressed support for allowing Biden to continue receiving Holy Communion.

Pope Francis meets with President Joe Biden during an audience at the Apostolic Palace on October 29, 2021 in Vatican City.

It is expected that Biden’s trip in the last month of his presidency will be his last abroad.

 

This will constitute a rare event, according to the agency. Associated Press, which indicated that the last president to travel abroad during the last month of his presidency was President George H. W. Bush, who served one term in office. 

Bush traveled to Moscow and Paris on diplomatic missions to support a nuclear treaty and discuss The Bosnian war that was going on at the time with the then French president, according to historical records from the State Department.

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