As Pope makes G-7 debut, abortion vanishes from communique

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the communique would continue to protect and promote the rights of LGBTQIA+ people globally, specifically around the threats they face, with unchanged commitment.

On Thursday French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the tensions in the room, telling reporters he regretted that a reference to abortion disappeared from the text.

At home, Meloni has drawn the ire of groups in favor of reproductive rights for women by fanning the flames of anti-abortion rhetoric but stopped short of changing the law on the matter.

Unlike Meloni, which has shown to be profoundly mainstream in matters of foreign policy, Francis has flaunted a particular disregard for diplomatic protocol, going off-script on conflicts such as those in Ukraine and that between Israel and Hamas.

That makes his attendance at this summit potentially tricky. Even religious government aides in Rome describe as a loose cannon and prone to the more than occasional blunder. Ukrainian officials have been deeply critical of Pope Francis, who has sung the praises of Russian tzars and suggested Ukraine raise a white flag.

He was forced to apologize last month after allegedly saying “there was too much faggotry” among homosexual men wishing to become priests, highlighting the profoundly complex relationship the Church has with the LGBTQ community.

Yet earlier this week, he appeared unrepentant. He was reported as telling Roman priests “there was an air of faggotry” in the Vatican while condemning the power of “LGBT lobbies.” This time, the Vatican had a statement ready and it notably lacked an apology.

The pope’s reported uses of LGBTQ slurs did draw short shrift from the White House, which said after his first alleged use of the slur that “everyone, including LGBTQ+ persons, deserves dignity and should not be discriminated because of who they are, who they love.”

Will Biden chide Pope Francis in person? Politics has occasionally exposed rifts in their relationship, such as when he called Biden’s support for abortion rights an “incoherence.”

But ultimately, their shared faith has meant the two leaders have tended to back each other up and glide over their differences.

“This is a man who is of great empathy,” Biden said in 2021 of the Pope. “He is a man who understands that part of his Christianity is to reach out and to forgive. And so I just find my relationship with him one that I personally take great solace in. He is a really, truly genuine, decent man.”