US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, privately met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, this morning in the Vatican.
Answering questions from journalists, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, issued a brief statement regarding the Oct. 1 encounter, noting that Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, was also present.
«The parties,» the Vatican statement noted, «presented their respective positions regarding relations with the People’s Republic of China, in a relaxed and cordial atmosphere of respect.»
Noting they also discussed «some areas of conflict and crisis, particularly the Caucasus, the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean,» the Director’s statement concluded, noting the meeting lasted about 45 minutes.
Also present at the meeting were US Ambassasdor to the Holy See, Callista Gingrich, and US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback.
ZENIT spoke yesterday to Cardinal Parolin following the US Embassy to the Holy See’s event to advance and promote religious freedom through diplomacy, where he, Archbishop Gallagher, Secretary Pompeo, and Ambassador Gingrich spoke.
