12/01/2025
THE US REACHES OVER THE ABYSS!
WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Pope Francis on Saturday and awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the nation's highest civilian honor, days before leaving the White House.
It was the first time during his four years in office that Biden awarded the medal "with distinction," it said.
Biden, 82, is only the second Catholic president in U.S. history, spoke with the Pope by phone on Saturday to tell him he was a recipient of the medal, which is the highest civilian honor.
The White House shared a photo of Biden in the Oval Office alongside the medal. Biden was expected to be in Rome this weekend but canceled the trip due to the raging wildfires in Los Angeles.
He previously planned to leave for Italy on Thursday and meet with the pope, for his final foreign trip as president.
In honoring the pope, the White House called the leader of the Catholic church โthe Peopleโs Pope โ a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world.โ
The president has had a close relationship with the pope, who has supported him despite the churchโs teachings against abortion.
He also met with the pope in October 2021 as conservative Catholic bishops were mulling whether he should be able to receive communion due to his pro-abortion rights stance. Biden, at the time, said the pope told him he should keep receiving communion.
This reminds me of a statement;
โThe Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience....โ The Great Controversy, 588, 589.
You can read the statement from the White house here. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/11/president-biden-awards-presidential-medal-of-freedom-with-distinction-to-his-holiness-pope-francis/
