Pope meets with leader of European Council : News Headlines - Catholic Culture


Pope Benedict XVI met on November 12 with Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council.

In a brief statement released after the meeting, the Vatican said that the conversation had centered on “the promotion of human rights and, in particular, of religious freedom.”

A former prime minister of Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy was elected in November 2009 to become the first president of the European Council, a group that includes the heads of government of the European Union nations. This post is distinct from that of the president of the European Commission: a job currently held by José Manuel Barroso.