Outspoken Pope Francis and President Trump to meet for first time
VATICAN CITY — St. Peter's Square was already barricaded and police were preparing to close key avenues around Rome ahead of President Trump's arrival Wednesday to meet with Pope Francis.
Both outspoken leaders have taken verbal jabs at each other. Francis, in reference to then-candidate Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, said: “A person who only thinks about building walls, wherever they may be, and not about building bridges, is not a Christian.” Trump replied that a religious leader capable of voicing such sentiments was “disgraceful.”
“For all their differences, both men say what they feel and speak clearly and freely, without holding back,” said Lucetta Scaraffia, a modern history professor at Rome’s La Sapienza University and the author of several books about the Vatican. “In their own ways, each is very undiplomatic.”
Francis and Trump are unlikely to criticize each other so bluntly when they meet — at least in public, said Andrea Tornielli, a veteran Vatican watcher with Italy’s La Stampa newspaper.
“This is not going to be a boxing match,” Tornielli said. “It’s their first meeting, and I think they will both try hard to find some common ground.”
Francis indicated that earlier this month, saying “I never make a judgment about a person without hearing him out.”
The pontiff also told reporters: “There are always some doors that are not completely closed. We will look for the doors that are at least partially open, enter them, and talk about those things.”
The men will meet behind closed doors at the Vatican, with no joint public appearance scheduled. Trump will also tour the Sistine Chapel.
Later Wednesday, Trump will meet with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and President Sergio Mattarella. Trump and Gentiloni met a month ago, during the prime minister’s state visit to Washington. This time, the U.S. and Italian leaders will likely discuss migration issues, international security and possible economic cooperation between the two countries that are longtime allies.
At least a half-dozen protests against Trump are scheduled to take place in Rome on Tuesday or Wednesday.
“I’m not a supporter of the president, but I have no problem with him coming to Rome and meeting the pope,” said Pittsburgh native Tanya Halkyard, 36, who owns an English school in Rome and is one of the founders of American Expats for Positive Change, a group behind some of the protests. “I guess I’m hoping the pope might be a good influence on him.”
Halkyard said she helped organize the protests to show that even Americans who live far from the country are “very displeased” with the path the president is taking. “We want him to know he doesn’t speak for us,” she said.
From Rome, Trump will fly to Brussels for a summit with NATO leaders. He then flies back to Italy on Friday for the two-day meeting of the Group of Seven world leaders in Sicily. Italy’s Gentiloni will host the meeting of leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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