Police criticised for cafe siege action
PRESIDENT DONALD Trump and Pope Francis met at the Vatican City yesterday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe.
Mr Trump, midway through his nine-day maiden international journey, called on the pontiff at the Vatican where the two had a private 30-minute meeting laden with religious symbolism and ancient protocol.
The president, accompanied by his wife and several aides, arrived at the Vatican just after 8am local time.
The president greeted Francis in Sala del Tronetto, the room of the little throne, on the second floor of Apostolic Palace.
Upon completing their meeting, the pope gave the president a medal featuring an olive branch, a symbol of peace, among other gifts.
“We can use peace,” the president responded.
The visit began with a handshake between the two men.
Mr Trump could be heard thanking the pope and saying it was “a great honour” to be there.
They then posed for photographs and then sat down at the papal desk, the pope unsmiling, as their private meeting began.
It ended a half hour later when Francis rang the bell in his private study.
The pontiff was then introduced to members of Mr Trump’s delegation, including his wife Melania, his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as aides Hope Hicks and Dan Scavino.
Smiling for the staff, Francis had a light moment with the First Lady, asking via translator, “What do you give him to eat, pizza?”
Melania giggled and said “Pizza? Yes.” As is tradition, the pope and president exchanged gifts.
Mr Trump presented the pontiff some books written by Martin Luther King Jr, saying “I think you’ll enjoy them. I hope you do.”
The pope presented Mr Trump with the medal, a message of peace and three bound papal documents that to some degree define his papacy and priorities.
When Mr Trump departed, he told the pope: “Thank you, I won’t forget what you said.”
Mr Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, had a private audience with Francis at the Vatican in 2014 that lasted 50 minutes.
But the timing on Wednesday was tight as Francis had his weekly Wednesday general audience, the thousands of pilgrims on hand forced Mr Trump’s motorcade to enter Vatican City from a side entrance rather than the grand entrance through St. Peter’s Square.
The meeting, which concluded Mr Trump’s tour of the world’s largest monotheistic religions, could provide powerful imagery to Catholic voters back in the United States as well as the possibility for conflict between a president and a pope who have not often seen eye-to-eye.
Mr Trump arrived in Rome on Tuesday evening, his motorcade closing a busy Italian road just after rush hour and prompting hundreds of onlookers to briefly step out of their gridlocked cars to gawk at the fleet of armoured vehicles.
He spent the night at the US ambassador to Italy’s residence. Though both Mr Trump and Francis are known for their unpredictability, papal visits with heads of state are carefully arranged bits of political and religious theatre that follow a specific programme, with little room for deviation or unwanted surprises.
Mr Trump was expected to be given a tour of the Vatican after his papal meeting.
In recent days, Francis and Mr Trump have been in agreement on a need for Muslim leaders to do more against extremists in their own communities. But there are few other areas where their views align.
Police responding to the deadly hostage crisis in a Sydney cafe in 2014 underestimated the threat the gunman posed and should have stormed the building earlier, a coroner has said.
New South Wales state Coroner Michael Barnes issued his findings after a two-year inquiry into the siege at the Lindt Cafe in central Sydney. The conclusions follow intense criticism from several of the 18 hostages and families of the victims, who questioned why police waited 17 hours to act.