Pope urges Trump to work for peace as smiles replace spats

Vatican City, May 24 

Pope Francis urged US President Donald Trump to be a peacemaker at their highly anticipated first meeting on Wednesday, and Trump promised he would not forget the pontiff’s message.

Under clear blue skies, Trump, who exchanged sharp words with the pope during the US election campaign, received a tribute from the Swiss Guard in a Vatican courtyard when he arrived.

He entered a small elevator taking him to the third floor of the Apostolic Palace and, after a long ceremonial walk past frescoed corridors, shook the Pope’s hand at the entrance to the private study, which the frugal pontiff uses only for official occasions.

Francis smiled faintly as he greeted Trump outside the study and was not as outgoing as he sometimes is with visiting heads of state. Trump, seeming subdued, said “it is a great honour”.

The two talked privately for about 30 minutes with translators. Francis also gave Trump a signed copy of his 2017 peace message whose title is “Nonviolence  — A Style of Politics for Peace,” and a copy of his 2015 encyclical letter on the need to protect the environment from the effects of climate change.

“Well, I’ll be reading them,” Trump said. During his election campaign, Trump described as a hoax scientific findings that human economic activity contributed to global warming. 

As Trump and the Pope said goodbye at the door of the study, Trump told the Pope: “Thank you, thank you. I won’t forget what you said.”

A Vatican statement said the meeting was “cordial” and that the Vatican hoped there could be “serene collaboration” between the US government and the American Catholic Church, including “assistance to immigrants”. — Reuters