After missing a scheduled trip to the Vatican to observe the fires that have been raging across Southern California, President Joe Biden gave Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian award, on Saturday at the White House.
The bishop was referred to as the” Women’s Pope” whose “mission of serving the poor has not ceased.”
Biden’s final overseas visit as senator was scheduled to take place this trip in Italy. The journey included discussions with Pope Francis, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The White House announced that Biden may remain in the United States and that his journey would not continue as planned following his visit to Los Angeles after fire caused the city’s southern California city and the surrounding region to be severely damaged.
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The bishop called next month for the death sentences of U.S. federal residents to be commuted, a request that Biden made two weeks later, though they haven’t spoken in person since the G7 summit in the summer of last year. That choice led to significant outrage from the government, including from President-elect Donald Trump, who vowed to use the Department of Justice to follow the dying penalty , against “violent criminals, murderers, and demons” once he takes office.
The pope received the award after a meeting next weekend for 19 other consumers of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, some of whom received unfavorable reviews. The prestigious award was presented to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and long-time Democratic megadonor George Soros along with a dozen artists.
