Obama will meet Pope Francis for the first time
The U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Italy on Wednesday night, in the third stage of the tournament which he performed in Europe and Saudi Arabia, and on Thursday he will meet Pope Francis for the first time.
Coming from Brussels, where Obama spent all Wednesday, the Air Force One plane landed at 21:18 local time at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome, according to an AFP photographer who traveled aboard the presidential aircraft.
In a tournament dominated by the major geopolitical issues of the moment, from Ukraine, which he talked about in the summits from Netherlands and Belgium, to the Iranian nuclear file, which is to be addresed Friday, in Saudi Arabia, the American president will think about internal affairs when the Pontiff will meet him, on Thursday morning.
This meeting takes place in the context in which Obama, just like Francis, fights against inequality.
But the Democratic President had inclosures with the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, where he defended the idea of a 25% wage increase at the federal level, or when trying to rebalance the taxation for the poor.
Some ultra-conservative Protestants have described Pope Francis as 'Marxist', because of his radical position on 'the idol of money' which, in turn, brought the sympathy of the progressive Catholics, despite the fact that he opposes the marriage between the same sex and ordination of women.
"The first year of Pope Francis (as the head of the Catholic Church) was an inspiration for the President, like for many people in the world," said the National Security Presidential Deputy Adviser, Ben Rhodes.
The message of 'solidarity, equality' of the Pope resonated "among Catholics, but also among people of other religions," added Rhodes, talking to the journalists aboard the Air Force One on the route from Brussels to Rome.
For the two leaders, the audience on Thursday "will be the opportunity to know each other personally" and Obama wants "to hear the Pope speak about what he is trying to do in the world and express his admiration," said the same source.
Obama will also meet with the new Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, and the President Giorgio Napolitano, then will visit the Coliseum.
"I come to Rome to hear the Pope. Thinking it is valuable to understand how to win the challenge against poverty," said Obama in an interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper, according to some excerpts released on Wednesday evening, immediately after his arrival in Italy.
"The Pope proposes challenges to us. Implores us to remember the people, the families, the poor," he continued, noting that the Pontiff "invites us to pause and reflect on the human dignity."
The president said that he wants to hear the Pope's proposals "to limit inequalities on income distribution. By putting us constantly at the base of the social justice wall, he is showing us the risks of getting used to extreme inequalities to the point when we consider them normal," Obama said in the interview in Brussels.
In the interview, he evokes the Italianpart of the visit. The American leader of the state wants an acceleration of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union (EU) in the Italian presidency semester of the Union.
Obama also praised the option of the new head of the Italian government to devote the first visit abroad towards Tunisia. "It is a sign that Italy wants to consolidate the leadership that already is exercised in the Mediterranean area, from Lebanon to Libya," he told to the Corriere della Sera.
Regarding the United States, Obama has denied any desire for disengagement from the region. "I want to be clear. Our commitment in this area does not diminish, on the contrary, it is increasing," he said.
