Biden: Pope told me that I should ‘keep receiving Communion’

By JOSH BOAK, ZEKE MILLER and NICOLE WINFIELD

ROME (AP) — Face to look astatine the Vatican, President Joe Biden held extended and highly idiosyncratic talks with Pope Francis connected Friday and came distant saying the pontiff told him helium was a “good Catholic” and should support receiving Communion, though conservatives person called for him to beryllium denied the sacrament due to the fact that of his enactment for termination rights.

The world’s 2 astir salient Roman Catholics ran overtime successful their discussions connected clime change, poorness and the coronavirus pandemic, a lukewarm speech that besides touched connected the nonaccomplishment of president’s big lad and included jokes astir aging well.

Biden said termination did not travel up successful the meeting. “We conscionable talked astir the information helium was blessed that I was a bully Catholic and I should support receiving Communion,” Biden said.

The president’s enactment for termination rights and same-sex matrimony has enactment him astatine likelihood with galore U.S. bishops, immoderate of whom person suggested helium should beryllium denied Communion. American bishops are owed to conscionable successful their yearly autumn league successful mid-November, and volition find themselves debating a imaginable rebuke of a U.S. president conscionable weeks aft their brag spent truthful overmuch clip with Biden that each their consequent meetings were thrown disconnected by an hour.

Video released by the Vatican showed respective warm, relaxed moments betwixt Francis and Biden arsenic they repeatedly shook hands and smiled. Francis often sports a dour look, particularly successful authoritative photos, but helium seemed successful bully spirits Friday. The backstage gathering lasted astir 75 minutes, according to the Vatican, much than treble the mean magnitude of an assemblage with the pontiff,

The brace sat crossed from each different astatine a table successful the papal library, accompanied by a translator. They past proceeded to an speech of gifts and a broader gathering including the archetypal woman and apical officials.

“Biden thanked His Holiness for his advocacy for the world’s mediocre and those suffering from hunger, conflict, and persecution,” the White House said. “He lauded Pope Francis’ enactment successful warring the clime crisis, arsenic good arsenic his advocacy to guarantee the pandemic ends for everyone done vaccine sharing and an equitable planetary economical recovery.”

Biden takes pridefulness successful his Catholic faith, utilizing it arsenic a motivation guidepost to signifier his societal and economical policies. He wears a rosary and attends Mass weekly.

After leaving the Vatican, Biden said that helium had a “wonderful” gathering and that the pope prayed for him and blessed his rosary beads. He said the supplication was astir “peace.”

A twelve Swiss Guards successful their bluish and golden striped uniforms and red-plumed helmets stood astatine attraction successful the San Damaso courtyard arsenic Biden and his wife, Jill, arrived. They were received by Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, who runs the papal household, and past greeted 1 by 1 the papal ushers, oregon papal gentlemen, who lined up successful the courtyard.

“It’s bully to beryllium back,” Biden said arsenic helium shook the manus of 1 of them. “I’m Jill’s husband,” helium told different earlier helium was ushered into the frescoed Apostolic Palace and taken upstairs to the pope’s backstage library.

According to the Vatican, Biden presented Francis with a woven chasuble, oregon liturgical vestment, made successful 1930 by the famed papal tailor Gammarelli and utilized by the pope’s Jesuit bid successful the U.S., wherever it was held successful the archives of Holy Trinity Church, Biden’s regular parish successful Washington. The White House said it would marque a donation to foundation successful the pope’s name.

Biden besides slipped what’s known arsenic a situation coin into the pope’s thenar during a handshake, and hailed Francis arsenic “the astir important warrior for bid I’ve ever met.”

The personalized coin depicts Biden’s location authorities of Delaware and a notation to his precocious lad Beau’s subject unit, the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade. Biden told Francis that Beau, who died of encephalon crab successful 2015, would person wanted him to contiguous the coin to the pope.

“The contented is, and I’m lone kidding astir this, but adjacent clip I spot you, if you don’t person it, you person to bargain the drinks,” Biden said, referring to the coin. He added: “I’m the lone Irishman you’ve ever met who’s ne'er had a drink.”

Francis laughed and responded: “The Irish brought whiskey.”

Biden, 78, besides relayed the communicative of American shot subordinate Satchel Paige, a Black pitcher who played precocious into his fifties, successful a parable astir aging. “’How aged would you beryllium if you didn’t cognize however aged you were?” Biden quoted Paige arsenic saying. “You’re 65, I’m 60,” Biden added, arsenic Francis, 84, pointed to his caput and laughed.

Francis presented Biden with a ceramic tile depicting the iconography of the pilgrim, arsenic good arsenic a postulation of the pope’s main teaching documents, the Vatican said. In the Vatican video, helium could beryllium heard asking Jill Biden to “pray for me.”

The lukewarm brushwood stood successful stark opposition to Donald Trump’s 2017 gathering with Francis, with whom the erstwhile president had a prickly relationship. Photos from that 30-minute gathering showed a stone-faced Francis lasting beside a grinning Trump. Biden’s gathering besides was longer than the 52 minutes Barack Obama spent with Francis successful 2014.

Biden is visiting Rome and past Glasgow for back-to-back summits, archetypal a gathering for leaders of the Group of 20 starring and processing nations and past a planetary clime conference.

Biden and Francis person antecedently met 3 times, but Friday’s brushwood was their archetypal since Biden became president.

Biden besides met separately Friday with G-20 acme hosts Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. He ended the time with French President Emmanuel Macron, trying anew to creaseless relations aft the U.S. and U.K. decided to supply nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, scotching a lucrative French declaration successful the process.

Biden’s gathering with Pope Francis generated immoderate contention successful beforehand arsenic the Vatican connected Thursday abruptly canceled plans to broadcast the gathering with Biden unrecorded and denied autarkic property access. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the revised tv program reflected the microorganism protocol for each heads of authorities audiences, though helium didn’t accidental wherefore much robust unrecorded TV sum had been initially scheduled and past canceled.

The Vatican alternatively provided edited footage of the brushwood to accredited media.

The Vatican spokesperson declined to remark connected Biden’s remarks astir Communion, noting that the Vatican doesn’t remark connected the pope’s backstage conversations beyond what is written successful the authoritative communique, which made nary notation of the issue.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a connection aft the Vatican gathering that didn’t code Biden’s remark astir Communion. Instead, the connection suggested that the president would not beryllium singled retired successful immoderate papers emerging from the bishops’ gathering adjacent month.

The papers “is intended to talk to the quality of gathering Jesus Christ successful the Eucharist and is addressed to each Catholics,” the connection said.

There was nary contiguous effect to queries sent by The Associated Press to 7 bishops engaged successful the debate.

Francis has stressed that helium volition not cull governmental leaders who enactment termination rights, though Catholic argumentation allows idiosyncratic bishops to take whether to forestall radical from taking Communion.

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AP Religion Writer David Crary successful New York contributed to this report.

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This communicative was archetypal published connected Oct. 29, 2021. It was updated connected Oct. 30, 2021, to close that the Swiss Guards were wearing red-plumed helmets, not red-plumed halberds.