Pope Francis received Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, in a private audience at the Vatican Apostolic Palace on the morning of October 9. The Vatican announced it at noon after the meeting.

Ms. Pelosi was accompanied in the audience with the Pope by her husband, Paul Pelosi, and others, including Patrick Connell, charge d’affaires of the United States Embassy to the Holy See. After the papal audience, she had talks with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States.

Ms Pelosi is the third senior U.S. official to be received in audience by Pope Francis and senior Vatican officials this year, after John Kerry, the president’s special climate envoy, on May 15, and Antony Blinken, secretary of American state. , June 28.

Like President Biden, President Pelosi is Catholic and has been publicly attacked by some American bishops for promoting abortion legislation.

Like President Joseph Biden Jr. and Mr. Kerry, President Pelosi is Catholic. All three have been criticized and publicly attacked by some American bishops for promoting abortion legislation. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco has been particularly critical of Ms Pelosi, who lives in her archdiocese, and accused her and President Biden of not being “good Catholics” because of their support for legal abortion.

Pope Francis and his senior advisers are well aware of the criticisms Ms Pelosi has received from the Archbishop of San Francisco, sources in Rome said America, but neither the Pope nor senior Vatican officials share the Archbishop’s confrontational approach. Recently, on the plane from Bratislava to Rome on September 15, the Pope called on bishops “to be pastors, not politicians” and advocated avoiding condemnation, excommunication or a judgmental approach.

Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has promoted a culture of encounter and dialogue and reminded everyone that “we are all sinners”.

Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has promoted a culture of encounter and dialogue and reminded everyone that “we are all sinners”.

Yesterday, October 8, President Pelosi was warmly welcomed at the Vatican Dicastery for Integral Human Development by the head of that department, Cardinal Peter Turkson. She was in Rome for the UN-sponsored COP26 interparliamentary preparatory meeting in Glasgow, UK, on ​​climate change, which the Pope was due to address on October 9. Cardinal Turkson’s dicastery took the news on Twitter, also posting Photos.

We welcome @SpeakerPelosi of the United States House of Representatives. We talked about environmental protection, in light of #Laudatosi , migration issues, human rights, health in times of pandemic and the work of the #Covid Vatican Commission for #foodforyou#employment#healthypic.twitter.com/OVHOofECF9

– Integral human development (@VaticanIHD) October 8, 2021

President Pelosi’s meeting with the Pope took place the day after the White House announced the appointment of former US Senator Joseph Donnelly of Indiana as US Ambassador to the Holy See . America learned that the Vatican had accepted the nomination of Mr. Donnelly, known as a pro-life Democrat. It has yet to be confirmed by the US Senate, but it seems unlikely to happen before President Biden’s visit to Pope Francis on October 29. (The date of Mr Biden’s visit has not been officially announced but Vatican sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to be registered, confirmed the date to America.)