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WASHINGTON (AFP) – Pope Francis spoke with Joe Biden by phone on Thursday (November 12) to offer “blessings and congratulations” to the president-elect of the United States on his victory, the Democrat’s transition team said in a statement.
Former Vice President Biden, 77, is only the second Catholic elected to the US presidency, after John F Kennedy in 1960.
“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 bonds of humanity around the world,” according to a reading from the Call provided by Biden’s office. .
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 and integrating immigrants and refugees in our communities. “
During a bitter 2020 campaign against President Donald Trump, Biden cited Pope John Paul II, frequently invoked his Irish Catholic roots, and vowed to “restore the soul of America” after four years of acrimony.
He also regularly wore a rosary that belonged to his late son Beau Biden.
Pope Francis himself has had strained relations with Trump. In early 2019, he called Trump’s wall project on the US-Mexico border “insane.”
When Trump was seeking the Republican nomination in February 2016, the Pope caused a sensation when he said during a visit to Mexico that someone who thinks about building walls instead of bridges “is not a Christian.”
Trump responded with a stinging statement at the time, saying, “For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is shameful.”
In 2015, the Pope met with then-Vice President Biden in Washington when Francis delivered a speech on the United States Capitol at a joint meeting of Congress.
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