French President Emmanuel Macron, accused at home of straining France's secular foundations by seeking to mend ties with the Catholic Church, discussed Europe, migration and poverty in an unusually long meeting with Pope Francis on Tuesday. The two talked together for nearly an hour in the official papal library in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, about twice as long as Francis usually spends with heads of state or government. They discussed "protection of the environment, migration, and multilateral commitment to conflict prevention and resolution, especially in relation to disarmament," a Vatican statement said. They also spoke about prospects for resolving conflicts in the Middle East and Africa and the future of Europe, it said. At the end of the private part of the audience, Macron gave Francis a rare copy of Georges Bernanos 1936 book "Diary of a Country Priest". "I've read this book many times and it has done me good. It is a book that I have ...
