Tsipras to meet with Pope Francis on Thursday
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras will travel to the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Francis on Thursday according to reports.
Social justice, unemployment, immigration and the Mideast crisis are on the agenda, the reports said.
Tsipras will reportedly be accompanied by leftist party spokesman Panos Skourletis and Walter Baier, coordinator of the European network for alternative thinking and political dialogue, Transform!
Since Pope Francis was elected to replace Pope Benedict XVI he has frequently spoken out about and acted on issues of poverty, earning himself the nickname, “Pope of the Poor.”
Tsipras raised eyebrows in August after spending two days at the semi-autonomous monastic community on Mount Athos in northern Greece. Analysts saw the visit as a bid to broaden the party’s appeal and mend its damaged relationship with the Orthodox church. Tsipras has in the past said he is not a religious person.
