Diocese of Grand Rapids Statement on Pope Francis and President Trump

President Trump and Pope Francis will meet at the Vatican on Wednesday, May 24. It will be the first time the two have met.

CNN reports that the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, who is a close associate of Pope Francis, says, "it will be a meeting without 'walls.'"

In February of 2016 the two world leaders went back-and-forth about "walls."

NBC reports, when asked about Trump's plan to build a wall, Pope Francis said, "A person who only thinks about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian."

Trump responded, "For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened."

This morning, the Diocese of Grand Rapids issued the following statement in anticipation of the meeting between President Trump and Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday, May 24, 2017:

We look forward with anticipation to the meeting between Pope Francis and President Donald Trump. This meeting continues a great tradition of Presidents of the United States meeting with our Holy Father. It is our prayer that during this meeting Pope Francis and President Trump will listen respectfully to each other and find common ground on issues that will benefit the common good.