U.S. President Joe Biden had a private meeting with Pope Francis while on the sidelines of the G7 summit, the White House said Friday.
The leaders focused on humanitarian goals, the White House said, including reuniting families in Ukraine whose children were kidnapped during Russia's invasion and the "urgent need for an immediate ceasefire and a hostage deal" in Gaza.
President Biden reportedly also discussed Francis' efforts to help the poor and address the global effects of climate change.
President Biden last visited Francis at the Vatican in 2021. An administration official said the leaders have exchanged written correspondence since then.
President Biden has known Francis since he attended his papal inauguration while he was Barack Obama's vice president in 2012.
Europe
Pope Francis becomes first pontiff to address a G7 summit, raises alarm about AI
Francis was the first pontiff to attend the G7 meeting.
He challenged leaders of the world’s wealthy democracies Friday to keep human dignity foremost in developing and using artificial intelligence. He said politicians must take the lead in making sure AI remains human-centric, so that decisions about when to use weapons or even less-lethal tools always remain made by humans and not machines.
The Vatican said Francis held other one-on-one meetings with world leaders at G7, including with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and India’s Narendra Modi.