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By Simon Lewis
WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) – Pope Francis offered his “blessings and congratulations” to US President-elect Joe Biden in a phone call Thursday, seeking to rebuild relations with Washington after four years of relations at times. controversies with President Donald Trump.
The conversation was announced by Biden’s transition team, who will become the second Roman Catholic president in American history when he enters the White House on January 20. Trump has yet to admit and is pursuing legal challenges.
Francisco has clashed with Trump over a number of issues, including China, climate change, Cuba and immigration.
“The president-elect thanked His Holiness for extending his blessings and congratulations and noted his appreciation for His Holiness’s leadership in promoting peace, reconciliation and the common ties of humanity around the world,” the team of transition in a statement.
“(Biden) expressed his desire to work together on the basis of a shared belief in the dignity and equality of all humanity on issues such as caring for the marginalized and the poor, addressing the climate change crisis, and welcoming e integrate immigrants and refugees into our communities, “he said.
In February 2016, when Republican Trump was still running for president, Francisco criticized his promise to build a wall along the border with Mexico, saying that a man who wanted to build walls “is not a Christian.”
After Trump’s election, Francis criticized the president’s decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement to limit global warming and his administration’s policy that separates migrant families entering the United States.
In an interview with Reuters in 2018, Francisco said he was saddened by Trump’s decision to reverse an agreement that the Vatican helped negotiate during the previous Obama administration to encourage trade and travel with Cuba.
Biden, who attends Mass on Sundays, will be the first American Catholic president since his fellow Democrat John F. Kennedy in the 1960s.
Conservative American Catholics, many of whom voted for Trump, have said priests should not give Biden communion because of his pro-abortion views.
(Additional reporting from Pete Schroeder in Washington and Philip Pullella in Rome, written by Philip Pullella, edited by Chizu Nomiyama and Howard Goller)
