Biden praises Pope Francis as 'the most significant warrior for peace I've ever met'
President Biden during his European trip on Friday held a lengthy meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, praising him as a "warrior for peace."
Biden wrapped up a meeting with the pope on Friday that the Vatican said lasted about 75 minutes. CNN Vatican Correspondent Delia Gallagher described this as a "very long time" for a one-on-one meeting between a president and the pope and "definitely one of the longest meetings" for Pope Francis. Indeed, CBS' Weijia Jiang noted former President Barack Obama's 2014 meeting with the pope lasted 50 minutes, while former President Donald Trump's lasted about a half-hour in 2017.
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Ahead of the meeting, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden and the pope planned to discuss issues including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty, and climate change, noting they have a "great deal of agreement" on these issues. Biden is the second Catholic U.S. president after John F. Kennedy. As Biden arrived at the Vatican, he said, "It's good to be back."
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