Biden gives Pope Francis highest civilian honor before leaving office

President Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction to Pope Francis days before leaving the White House.

Biden, who is only the second Catholic president in U.S. history, spoke with the Pope by phone on Saturday to tell him he was a recipient of the medal, which is the highest civilian honor.

The White House shared a photo of Biden in the Oval Office alongside the medal. Biden was expected to be in Rome this weekend but canceled the trip due to the raging wildfires in Los Angeles.

The pope is the only person Biden has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction to during this time in office. He previously planned to leave for Italy on Thursday and meet with the pope, as well as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, for his last foreign trip as president.

In honoring the pope, the White House called the leader of the Catholic church “the People's Pope – a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world.”

The president has had a close relationship with the pope, who has supported him despite the church’s teachings against abortion. The two met in June while Biden was in Italy for Group of Seven meetings.

He also met with the pope in October 2021 as conservative Catholic bishops were mulling whether he should be able to receive communion due to his pro-abortion rights stance. Biden, at the time, said the pope told him he should keep receiving communion.

A month later, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted a document on communion without mentioning whether Biden or other politicians should be denied the rite based on their stance on abortion, signaling an end to the debate on the issue.

Biden has also recalled that the pope came to Washington, D.C., in 2015, while he was vice president, and spoke to him about the death of his son, Beau.

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