Catholic League president Bill Donohue on Friday commended Pope Francis and the Vatican for not allowing live press coverage of the pope’s meeting with President Joe Biden in Vatican City.
Biden met with Pope Francis for about 90 minutes during his trip to Italy for the G20 summit, with the president saying after their sit-down that the pope said he’s "happy I’m a good Catholic and I should keep receiving communion."
Although their one-on-one meeting was held behind closed-doors, the two were photographed together as Biden arrived at the Vatican. However, independent journalists were not allowed to see their meeting and no live images of the pope greeting the president were provided, according to CNN. Biden, the first Catholic U.S. president since John F. Kennedy Jr., and Pope Francis previously met in 2016 and in 2015, when Biden was vice president.
Donohue said in a statement on the Catholic League website about the meeting: "the White House is out to milk the meeting between Pope Francis and President Biden," but added, "the Vatican has thrown a monkey wrench into this opportunistic gambit. The media have been mostly barred from covering the meeting."
He added that "The Vatican has said that there will be no live coverage of Biden greeting the pope. Nor will the media be allowed to cover the two men sitting down as they begin their conversation. In other words, the optics that the White House was counting on are dead in the water. Usually, the media film an exchange of gifts between the pope and a head of state in the pope’s library; a recording of what they say is also provided. Not this time. Only select professionals, chosen by the Vatican, will be permitted."
Donohue concluded, "Kudos to the Vatican. They know when they are being used."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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