After an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin. President Biden thanked Cardinal Parolin for the Vatican’s active leadership in fighting the climate crisis— both through advocacy and encouraging the climate neutrality of hundreds of Christian organizations worldwide. The leaders discussed efforts to rally global support for vaccinating the developing world against COVID-19. President Biden thanked the Vatican for speaking out on behalf of the wrongfully detained, including in Venezuela and Cuba. The leaders committed to continue using their voices to advocate for personal and religious freedoms world-wide.   

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