Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 11, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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President Biden awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest US civilian honor, during a call. Biden canceled his Rome trip due to California fires.
WASHINGTON (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, the White House said.
It was the first time during his four years in office that Biden awarded the medal "with distinction," it said.
Biden this week canceled his trip to Rome, where he was due to meet the pope in person, to oversee the federal response to the deadly fires in California.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Will Dunham)
The main topic is President Biden awarding Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest US civilian honor.
Biden canceled his trip to Rome to oversee the federal response to the deadly fires in California.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor in the United States, awarded for significant contributions to the country.
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