Donald Trump Meets Pope Francis: Issues The Two Leaders Differ On

After talks with leaders in Saudi Arabia and Israel, President Donald Trump arrived at the Vatican, Rome, along with his wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner to meet Pope Francis. The president and his team arrived just before 2:30 a.m. EDT, reports said.

The Pope welcomed Trump to the Vatican, Wednesday, indulging in handshakes before ushering the president into his study for the first face-to-face meeting of the two leaders, who have differences in opinions on several crucial issues, the New York Times reported.

Trump was also heard saying that it was "an honour” to be there, while both he and the Pope shook hands. Although, the meeting with the Pope went smoothly, both the world leaders share a history of differing views on several issues.

Read: List Of World Leaders Trump Has Met Since Taking office

Climate Change is one of the core issues on which Trump and the Pope disagree upon. Trump has threatened to withdraw the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris accord on reducing greenhouse global gas emissions. He also signed an executive order in March reversing environmental regulations enacted under his predecessor Barack Obama, the Telegraph reported.

In contrast to this, the Pope believes that climate change is largely man-made, which needs to be urgently addressed. The religious leader has called for collaborative action to stop global warming and to shift away from the use of fossil fuels. In the Wednesday meeting, the Pope is likely to give Trump an English copy of his encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si” (Praise Be), the Telegraph said.

The Pope, who himself belongs to an Italian family that migrated to Argentina, believes in showing compassion to refugees and migrants. Trump, on the other hand, is dedicated to halt the issuing of visas to people from several Muslim countries and also wants to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In Feb. 2016, the Pope had reportedly said that anyone who wanted to build walls rather than bridges is "not Christian," which referred to Trump. Trump had dismissed the comments as "disgraceful" in his Facebook post and called the Pope a pawn of the Mexican government.

The Pope, who described capitalism as "this economy that kills," is vocal about issues of social justice and has articulated Church’s suspicions about the efficacy of capitalism whereas Trump has made his fortune from investing in property and other ventures across the globe, according to Politico.

Trump wants to deduct taxes for the rich and the Pope, in contrast, has constantly warned that the excesses of the global capitalist system are leaving millions of people behind, giving rise to social tensions.

In March, the Pope reiterated his message on not to build walls but bridges.

However, despite the differences in views, the Pope said earlier this month that he would keep an open mind and not pass judgment on Trump till he hears the president's views.

"Even if one thinks differently we have to be very sincere about what each one thinks," he told reporters while flying back to Rome after a visit to Portugal, reports said.

Just hours before the religious leader's meeting with Trump, the Pope tweeted that how through dialogue, peace can be built.