Pompeo meets Pope Francis:

Europe

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met privately with Pope Francis and visited his ancestral home in southern Italy on Thursday as the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump roiled Washington.

On a day when a former special envoy for Ukraine was due to be interviewed in the impeachment probe, Pompeo appeared to be seeking some respite from the growing storm back home with his low-key schedule. But Pompeo has become increasingly drawn into the drama, and on Wednesday he confirmed for the first time that he listened in on the July phone call between Trump and Ukraine’s president that is at the center of the impeachment drive by House Democrats.

There was no indication that Pompeo, an evangelical Christian, sought any type of spiritual solace from Pope Francis during their meeting, which took place on the third day of his visit to Italy, the first stop of a four-nation tour of Europe.

In a brief statement, the State Department said Pompeo’s meeting with the pope focused on promoting religious freedom, particularly protecting vulnerable Christian communities in the Middle East, democracy and human rights. The Vatican confirmed the meeting took place but offered no details.

Afterward, Pompeo made the two-hour drive from Rome to Pacentro, in Italy’s Abruzzo region. Pompeo’s paternal grandfather came from the small town of roughly 1,000 residents, where locals say his last living relative died some 30 years ago. (AP)

Pompeo