Head’s up! The Pope looks surprised as Catholic Joe Biden gets VERY close to pontiff before Francis calls politics ‘the highest form of charity’

President Joe Biden went head to head with the Pope on Friday, close to Pope Frances during a day full of meetings in the G7 in Italy.

The close meeting between the pope and the country’s second Catholic president took place at the start of a meeting Artificial intelligencewhere the Pope gave a 20-minute speech warning of the risks and promise of the new technology – while defending the policy to a room full of beleaguered elected officials.

“We need politics,” the pope said during his 20-minute speech, which he joked was the shorter of the two versions he brought.

It came after the pope made a dramatic arrival by helicopter into the quiet Adriatic village of Borgo Egnazia for the annual meeting of leaders.

Biden and the Pope have built a personal bond, the US ambassador to the Vatican, Joe Donnelly told DailyMail.com ahead of Biden’s Thursday evening, hours before the meeting.

“These two love each other,” he said. Donnelly said he saw the pope last week and the pope took him aside to say, “Say hello to the president for me.”

During the day their last meeting, in 2021, the pope asked the first lady Jill Biden to pray for him, and the two men often smiled when they were together.

Face to face: President Joe Biden had a close relationship with Pope Francis before the Pope spoke about artificial intelligence at the G7 in Italy

Biden also used the earlier Vatican meeting to regale the pope with some vintage Biden stories, give him a challenge coin and joke about which of them would buy the drinks at their next meeting.

“You are the most important peace fighter I have ever met,” Biden told Francis.

The Pope seemed eager to provide some support to the group of beleaguered politicians who sat at the big round table in Italy on Friday. He started by joking that he had brought two versions of his speech and then opted for the shorter version, which the Argentinian delivered in Italian.

He thanked the “presidents, kings, all who are here with us today,” and faced Biden. He cited the “profound ethical challenges” of AI, and expressed fear of “a culture of rejection of others.”

“No machine should ever decide to take a human life,” he said, according to a simultaneous translation, amid breakthroughs in military applications of the technology. “No innovation is neutral,” he said.

Biden and other world leaders were keen to get close to Pope Francis during his visit. At one point, photographers shouted at Argentine President Javier Milei to get out of the way after he blocked the shot of Biden greeting the pope.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni greets Pope Francis as he attends the G7 summit at the Borgo Egnazia resort

Meloni was also on hand to greet the Pope as he arrived at the summit by helicopter and landed in Savelletri

Meloni road with the head in a golf cart to the event site

The Pope concluded by telling the assembled politicians that there was “corruption” and “inefficiency” among some politicians, but he defended this profession in general.

‘How can the world function without politics?’ he asked. ‘Can it find an effective path to universal brotherhood and social peace without good politics?

“We need politics,” he continued. ‘And I’m reminded of what a pope said about politics. It is the highest form of charity.”

Biden’s meeting with the pope was closed to the press.

A senior government official noted that they received a “very warm embrace when the Pope arrived at the AI ​​session,” but could not comment on what was said privately.

Another senior government official who briefed reporters in advance discussed the heavy topics they were likely to discuss.

These included the Middle East and the war in Gaza, climate change and issues of “great importance” to the Pope and the US.

“And on AI, I think we are both interested in and responsible use of artificial intelligence, while preserving human dignity and human rights,” the official said.

One topic he didn’t mention is the personal struggles Biden must endure and navigate as he seeks reelection at age 81 and faces family pitfalls. His son Hunter was found guilty of three felony weapons charges days before the trip.