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Hollande to meet Pope after French priest’s slay
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve will accompany Hollande on the trip.
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Hollande arrived at the Vatican for the 40-minute private audience after visiting the French church in Rome’s historic center.
Their meeting at the Vatican came three weeks after the brutal murder of the elderly French priest, Father Jacques Hamel, who was killed by two young French terrorists claiming allegiance to the so-called Islamic State group whilst he was celebrating Mass in his church near the city of Rouen.
Pope Francis exchanges gifts with French President Francois Hollande at the Vatican August 17, 2016.
The attack was the first committed in the name of ISIS against a church in the West.
Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean slit Hamel’s throat in front of a small group of worshippers before both were shot dead by police.
The chapel honours the memory of the 130 people who died during the November attacks in Paris, the 84 who died in Nice in July and Fr Jacques Hamel, who was brutally murdered as he celebrated Mass on July 26.
When Hollande spoke with Francis last month, “he told me in confidence that he was standing like a brother by the side of the French people”, the French president said.
Earlier in the day, Hollande told journalists that terrorism, status of Christian minority in the Middle East, as well as migration crisis would be discussed during the meeting.
“When a priest is attacked, all of France is wounded”, Hollande remarked, adding that “everything would be done to protect our churches and places of worship”.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the Vatican provided no details of the discussion.
It is the second time the two have met privately – Mr Hollande had a state visit on January 24 2014.
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Relations between the Socialist Party leader and the Holy See have seen periods of tension, triggered by Hollande’s failed attempt to appoint an openly gay diplomat as ambassador to the Vatican and a 2013 law in France that approved same-sex marriage.