2020-09-25 20:06 update: 2020-09-26, 13:22
Agata Kornhauser-Duda, Andrzej Duda. Photo PAP/Piotr Nowak
Pope Francis and Polish President Andrzej Duda discussed during a private audience on Friday how every person, in his own capacity, can act to pursue peace, the president wrote on Twitter.
"His Holiness Pope Francis emphasised that the desire for peace lies deep in people's hearts. We talked about how every man, within the limits of his abilities, can strive to act in such a way as to always and everywhere pursue peace. This thought also guides my decisions," Duda wrote after the audience.
Speaking to reporters after the audience, Duda said that the talks also focused on the future of the EU, the situation of the world's poor, and social and family policy. He added that Pope Francis voiced praise for family policies introduced in Poland in recent years.
Duda said that he and the Pope also discussed the situation in the Middle East, including the fate of the region's Christian communities. He added that the Pope thanked Poland for its aid to Italy during the Covid-19 epidemic.
Duda also met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, with whom he discussed international affairs and the situation in Belarus. After the talks, Duda said the Vatican shared Poland's view that democratic aspirations in Belarus had to be supported, and that Belarusians should decide their country's future in free elections.
President Andrzej Duda is paying a visit to the Holy See in connection with the centenary of the birth of St. John Paul II. (PAP)
