Pope, Macron meet at Vatican; Ukraine concerns loom large

By FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has met at the Vatican with French President Emmanuel Macron. The war in Ukraine looms large in their concerns. The nearly hour-long private audience on Monday was Francis’ third with Macron since becoming pontiff. The Vatican in a brief statement said that after Macron spoke with Francis, the French leader met with the Holy See’s secretary of state and its foreign minister. A French presidency official indicated the focus on Ukraine was in line with Macron’s speech on Sunday evening to a peace-promoting forum, which Francis will address later this week. Macron used that  speech to argue that it’s up to Ukraine to decide the moment and terms of peace to end the war.