The Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign, Pope Francis, has reacted to the November 3 United States presidential elections.
Pope Francis spoke by phone with Joe Biden on Thursday morning, becoming the latest world leader to congratulate the American president-elect.
Biden thanked Francis “for extending blessings and congratulations and noted his appreciation for His Holiness’ leadership in promoting peace, reconciliation, and the common bonds of humanity around the world,” according to a statement from the Biden transition team.
A spokesperson said: “President-elect Joe Biden spoke this morning with His Holiness Pope Francis.
“The president-elect thanked His Holiness for extending blessings and congratulations and noted his appreciation for His Holiness’s leadership in promoting peace, reconciliation, and the common bonds of humanity around the world.”
“The president-elect expressed his desire to work together on the basis of a shared belief in the dignity and equality of all humankind on issues such as caring for the marginalized and the poor, addressing the crisis of climate change, and welcoming and integrating immigrants and refugees into our communities.”
Their conversation came after several other members of the international community have reached out to Biden in recent days, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Biden and Francis have met at least once before, when Francis became the first pope to address a joint session of Congress in 2015. Biden, then vice president, was seated behind Francis atop the House speaker’s rostrum as the pope delivered his remarks.
The call Thursday between the pope and the president-elect is also notable because Biden is poised to become the first Roman Catholic president of the United States since John F. Kennedy. Biden frequently recited scripture on the 2020 campaign trail and is known to carry rosary beads in his pocket.
“Faith sees best in the dark,” he sometimes says in public remarks, quoting the Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard. Biden attended Mass on Election Day morning, and in his victory speech Saturday, he invoked the hymn “On Eagle’s Wings.”
The US presidential election was a tight battle between the incumbent President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, candidate of the Republican Party.
Joe Biden, however, emerged as winner after polling over 270 Electoral College votes, although the winner has not been officially announced.
Although Biden has since assumed his role as the President-elect, preparing to take over the White House, the incumbent, President Trump has refused to concede defeat.
Trump has gone to court challenging Biden’s victory in the election which he (Trump) alleged was marred by massive corruption and fraud.
The incumbent has recently expressed hope of being declared winner of the election, saying results that would be announced next week would put him ahead of Biden.
Pope Francis had recently said that Trump “is not Christian” in reaction to the President’s campaign promises to deport more immigrants and force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border.
