Trump meets Francis in ‘three faiths’ initiative

President Donald Trump was to meet with Pope Francis inside the Vatican on Wednesday in a foreign tour that saw him visit the centres of the world’s three Abrahamic religions.

Mr Trump kicked off his first trip abroad with a visit to Saudi Arabia where he told Muslim leaders to “drive out the terrorists” from within their communities and signed a $110bn arms deal. Calling for unity in the fight against radicalism in the Muslim world, he cast the challenge as a “battle between good and evil” and told Arab leaders: “This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilisations. This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it … If we do not stand in uniform condemnation of this killing, then we not only will be judged by our people … but we will be judged by God,” he told his audience in Riyadh. The speech condemned Shia-majority Iran and its leaders for “spreading destruction and chaos across the region”, and said they have “fuelled the fires” of terrorism.

In Israel on Monday, alongside  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Trump vowed to renew peace efforts with the Palestinians and to confront Iran. “I want you to know how much we appreciate the US change in policy on Iran,” Mr Netanyahu said. “We can hold back Iran’s march in this region and thwart Iran’s unbridled ambition.”

On Monday Mr Trump became the first sitting US president to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem. His two-day visit was to include a meeting on Tuesday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem and a visit to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem.

Underlying Mr Trump’s trip was a recognition of the impact of religious faith on global politics, and an attempt to open dialogue on bringing peace to the Middle East, a long-term goal that is shared by the Vatican. The President’s meeting with Francis has been highly anticipated, however, not for the shared objectives but the potential for differences, given disagreements on welcoming refugees and protecting the environment.

Mr Trump was to be greeted by a Swiss guard salute in the Cortile San Damaso before being led through the Vatican’s state rooms in procession by Gentlemen of His Holiness dressed in white tie. The first encounter between the Pope and Mr Trump was to take place in a small antechamber on the threshold of the larger “biblioteca” where the sit-down meeting was to take place.

The Pope and the President were then to take part in an exchange of gifts with Francis expected to give Mr Trump a copy of his encyclical on protecting the environment, Laudato si’. Mr Trump does not share the Pope’s position on man-made global warming, having in the past said it is a hoax created by China. Later in the day the First Lady Melania Trump was to visit the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù children’s hospital while Mr Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, was to meet female victims of human trafficking cared for by the Catholic humanitarian group, Sant’Egidio.