Biden convenes with Pope Francis at Italy’s G7 summit
President Joe Biden participated in a private meeting with Pope Francis in Bari, Italy. This meeting came shortly after Pope Francis made history by being the first pontiff to address the G7 leaders at their gathering. The private meeting between President Joe Biden and Pope Francis in Bargi, Italy, underscores both political and personal dimensions in their relationship. Given President Biden’s public commitments to issues like climate change, social justice, and immigration, it’s likely this meeting also touched on common goals, especially considering Pope Francis has actively promoted similar concerns globally.
Pope Francis addressing the G7 leaders was groundbreaking and aligns with his advocacy towards pressing global issues like poverty, inequality, and environmental protection. His address could be an indication of the Vatican stepping up its role in global policymaking forums, advocating for moral considerations and humanitarian perspectives on international platforms.
President Biden’s meeting with Pope Francis after such a landmark event suggests a mutual acknowledgment of their aligned perspectives, possibly reinforcing a shared agenda on these critical challenges. Discussions between such influential figures could foster further international collaborations that align with their vision for moral and ethical leadership on global issues.
President Joe Biden took part in an extended, private meeting with Pope Francis in Bari, Italy on Friday.
The meeting itself took place just hours after the pope became the first pontiff to address a full gathering of the collected G7 leaders.
Biden gave a thumbs up and said “it went well” when asked how his meeting with Francis went.
The White House did not allow reporters into the closed door meeting, but administration officials told the traveling press pool they planned to release a readout of the meeting in due time. Some media reports indicated that three of Biden’s grandchildren, all children of his son Hunter Biden, also took part in the meeting.
The pope’s remarks included a stark warning to the G7 leaders about potential dangers involving artificial intelligence. The pope specifically challenged the collected governments to ensure humans make decisions concerning weapons of mass destruction, not machines.
“We would condemn humanity to a future without hope if we took away people’s ability to make decisions about themselves and their lives by dooming them to depend on the choices of machines,” he said. “We need to ensure and safeguard a space for proper human control over the choices made by artificial intelligence programs: Human dignity itself depends on it.”
The G7’s closing statement appeared to take heed of that warning.
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“We will pursue an inclusive, human-centered, digital transformation that underpins economic growth and sustainable development, maximizes benefits, and manages risks in line with our shared democratic values and respect for human rights,” the statement reads.
Biden also held separate bilateral meetings this week with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates.
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