No smile from Pope Francis as he meets Trump at the Vatican

VATICAN CITY: US President Donald Trump arrived at the Vatican today for talks with one of his most high-profile critics, Pope Francis.

Under clear blue skies, Trump received a tribute from the Swiss Guard in a Vatican courtyard where he was greeted by Archbishop Georg Ganswein, the prefect of the pontifical household.

Trump looked uncomfort- able as he entered a small elevator taking him to the third floor of the Apostolic Palace, where he was accompanied by Ganswein and other officials to the pope’s private study.

Following behind Trump were daughter Ivanka, her husband, Jared Kushner, a top White House aide, national security adviser HR McMaster and adviser Hope Hicks.

The pope did not smile as he greeted Trump outside the study. Trump, seeming subdued, said “it is a great honour”. The men then posed for photographs and the pope kept a stern face.

Trump’s meeting with Pope Francis is part of his world tour of religions after meeting leaders of Muslim nations in Saudi Arabia and visiting holy sites in Jerusalem.

The pope said last year a man who thought about building walls and not bridges was “not Christian”, a sharp reprimand for Trump’s vow to build a wall along the US border with Mexico.

Trump said it was “disgraceful” of the Argentine-born pope to question his faith.

Trump’s softer stance on environmental regulations is also at odds with Francis’ view that climate change is caused mostly by human activity.

The Vatican also took a dim view of Trump’s anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric, although Trump softened his tone in a major speech in Riyadh.

Francis said last week he would be “sincere” with Trump, but did not want to judge him before listening to him in person.

Part of Trump’s motivation for meeting the pope was to dramatise how the three major religions should rally against the threat from Islamist militants.

Trump at first did not plan to stop in Rome during his visit to Europe, which some in the Vatican saw as a snub. When he changed his mind, the Vatican squeezed him in at 8.30am, on a Wednesday, an unusual day and an unusually early time. – Reuters