U.S. President Donald Trump Considers Meeting Pope Francis an 'Honor of a Lifetime'
Following his foreign trip and meeting with the head of the Roman Catholic Church, U.S. President Donald Trump said his time with Pope Francis was "an honor of a lifetime."
Trump took to Twitter to post his thoughts on his audience with Pope Francis. After he spoke with the pontiff, Trump tweeted that it was an "honor of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis."
The president also shared the effect of the meeting on him and added that he left the city "more determinded than ever to pursue PEACE in our world."
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His meeting with Pope Francis lasted for half an hour in a private study at the Vatican, Fox News reported. The two reportedly talked about current issues affecting the world, including recent terrorist attacks and the radicalization of many youths. During their meeting, the pope handed Trump a copy of his encyclical on environment preservation. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin used the time to appeal to Trump to stay with the Paris Climate Deal, The New York Times reported. In response, Trump said he will withhold any decision on the matter until his return to the United States. In his encyclical, Francis wrote that climate change is a real problem and must be addressed; otherwise the future generations will suffer. Years back, Trump expressed doubts on climate change. "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive," the president tweeted in 2012.
When Trump later met with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, he told him that Pope Francis is "something" and that it was a "fantastic meeting."
The Vatican later released a statement that they hope to collaborate with the Trump administration on health care and immigration assistance and that the pontiff was satisfied that he and Trump have a "joint commitment in favor of life."
