(LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis met pro-abortion, pro-LGBT Irish President Michael D. Higgins at a private audience today held in the pontiff’s private library.
The fourth meeting between the two leaders forms part of a busy five-day schedule for left-leaning Higgins in Rome, which coincides with a keynote address at the closing session of the World Food Forum at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization on October 20.
A press release from the meeting stated: “During the cordial discussions in the Secretariat of State, satisfaction was expressed at the good relations between Ireland and the Holy See, and mention was made of some issues of common interest. 
“Attention then turned to some matters of a global nature, such as food security in developing countries and commitment to the elimination of poverty, the protection of the environment in the light of the publication of the Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum, the phenomenon of migration in the delicate current world geopolitical situation, and the development of a multilateralism that might respond adequately to the current international conjuncture.”
During the meeting with Pope Francis, President Higgins presented the Pontiff with a bronze sculpture dedicated to migrants, made by Irish sculptor John Behan.
After the 30-minute meeting with Pope Francis, President Higgins told reporters: “He faces grave difficulties in the institution of which is head. I get a sense of that nearly every time I meet him. But his heart is in the right place.”
“He’s reaching out to people in the LGBT community” and “those who feel that they haven’t been labelled as Catholics,” said Higgins.
Earlier in the week, the Irish president met Italian President Sergio Mattarella and held a bilateral meeting with the heads of each of the three Rome-based United Nations agri-food and security organizations.
Higgins has made climate change ideology and U.N. Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) one of his main priorities during his presidency.
Addressing attendees at the National Ploughing Championships in the Irish Midlands on September 19, Higgins angered the farming community when he said changes and adjustments in diet including meat intake would “no doubt” need to happen due to climate change.
On July 6, 2022, in a letter to young people attending an E.U. Youth Conference in Prague, Pope Francis urged young people to eat less meat – not because of the Church’s traditional Friday fasting but to “break this self-destructive trend” of consumerism and prioritize sustainability.
Higgins previously cited ‘consequences of climate change’ when condemning terrorist attack on Nigerian Catholic church
In June 2022, Higgins was embroiled in controversy when he cited the alleged impact of climate change when condemning the murders of Christians celebrating the festival of Pentecost Sunday. Islamic militants murdered least 50 Christians during a ceremony at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, in southwestern Nigeria.
In a statement, Higgins said: “That such an attack was made in a place of worship is a source of particular condemnation, as is any attempt to scapegoat pastoral peoples who are among the foremost victims of the consequences of climate change.”
He continued:
The neglect of food security issues in Africa, for so long has brought us to a point of crisis that is now having internal and regional effects based on struggles, ways of life themselves.
The solidarity of us all, as peoples of the world, is owed to all those impacted not only by this horrible event but in the struggle by the most vulnerable on whom the consequences of climate change have been inflicted.
Nigerian Bishop Jude Ayodeji Arogundade issued a response to Higgins on his Facebook page afterward: “To suggest or make a connection between victims of terror and consequences of climate change is not only misleading but also exactly rubbing salt to the injuries who have suffered terrorism in Nigeria. Alluding to some form of politics of climate change in our situation is completely inappropriate.”
Since Higgins became the ninth President of Ireland in 2011, the two-term Labour man has signed a number of pro-abortion and pro-LGBT bills.
In 2015, the Irish leader signed a bill that legalized homosexual “marriage” following a referendum and in 2018, he signed the tragic abortion bill that legalized abortion-on-demand in the Republic of Ireland up until 12 weeks, with abortion up until birth allowed if the baby is found to have a life-limiting condition.
During the dark COVID period, Ireland had some of the strictest and most draconian lockdowns in place. In July 2021, Higgins signed the discriminatory vaccine passport bill (Health (Amendment) Bill 2021) which allowed the banning of “unvaccinated” people from accessing indoor premises.
In his message for International Women’s Day on March 8, he justified the idea of teaching transgender ideology, arguing schools should provide “basic information regarding sexuality in the fullest sense,” to children.
During Higgins’s third official Papal visit in 2021, Pope Francis expressed his admiration for the leftist Irish President in a formal photocall by saying: “Today, I did not just meet a man, a president; I met a wise man of today. I thank God that Ireland has such a wise man as its Head (of State).”