WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Pope Francis on Saturday and awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the nation’s highest civilian honor, the White House said.
It was the first time during his four years in office that Biden had been awarded the medal “with distinction,” it said.
Biden canceled his trip to Rome this week, where he was supposed to meet the pope in person, to oversee the federal response to the deadly California wildfires.
