US President Joe Biden will meet with Pope Francis later this month, when the president is in Rome for the G20 summit.
This was confirmed by the Pope's representative in the US, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, in an interview with the US bishops' Catholic News Service. He said, "It would be an anomaly" if the two did not meet, as the president - who is Catholic - will be in Rome.
The G20 is a forum that brings together the world’s major economies. The G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will be held in Rome on October 30 and 31.
Biden is only the second US President to profess the Catholic faith, after John F. Kennedy.
While Biden's pro-abortion stance puts him at odds with the Church, Archbishop Pierre said that the meeting between the two cannot be reduced to two "institutions."
“These are two human beings with huge responsibilities trying to meet each other. They are not wooden figures. And behind them is a big machine — and the world," the archbishop said.
Last week, Pope Francis met US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi is also Catholic, and also pro-abortion.
Archbishop Pierre, 75, has been the Pope's representative in the United States since April 2016.
