NBC News: Pope Francis declines Pompeo meeting ahead of U.S. election
Tensions have risen as Pompeo has urged the Holy See to denounce human rights abuses in China.
The Rome publication ANSA writes that when asked whether this meeting amounted to “exploitation of the pope in the final stages of the US presidential campaign,” the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States replied, “Yes, that is precisely why the pope will not meet American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.”
