Trump meets with Pope Francis

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump met Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday in a keenly-anticipated first face-to-face encounter between two world leaders who have clashed repeatedly on several issues.

The private audience with the pontiff was preceded by a cordial handshake for the cameras and was expected to last around 20 minutes.

It came on the third leg of Trump’s first overseas trip as president, which has already taken him to Saudi Arabia and to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The two men had never met before yesterday morning but they have significant history, having clashed publicly over subjects ranging from migration to unbridled capitalism and climate change.

They also disagree on the death penalty and the arms trade but share a fervent opposition to abortion.

Trump was accompanied for the audience by his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka, both dressed all in black, in keeping with traditional protocol that is no longer always observed by all female dignitaries visiting the Vatican.

The audience took place in the private library of the Apostolic Palace, the official papal residence that Francis does not use, having opted for modest lodgings in a Vatican guesthouse.

Later in the morning, Trump, 70, called on Italy’s president and prime minister while Melania visited a children’s hospital and Ivanka discussed migrant issues with members of the St Egidio religious community.

The Trump team was due to fly to Brussels yesterday afternoon for meetings with EU and Nato officials before returning to Italy late yesterday for the G7 summit in Sicily tomorrow and Saturday. — AFP