Barred by U.S., Waldheim to Visit Vatican
President Kurt Waldheim, barred from the United States because of alleged links to Nazi atrocities, will meet with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican next week in his first official visit abroad since taking office nearly a year ago.
The scheduled visit was announced today by Waldheim’s office and the Vatican.
Waldheim, a former secretary general of the United Nations and a Roman Catholic, won election as president and took office last July following in a campaign marked by allegations that he aided in the persecution of Jews and partisans while serving in the German army in the Balkans in World War II.
Presidential spokesman Gerold Christian said Waldheim will be in Rome from Wednesday through June 27, meeting with the Pope on June 25.
A Vatican announcement said it will be an official visit, which usually includes a private meeting, a public exchange of speeches by both men and a ceremony marked by the playing of national anthems.
Until today, the only trip Waldheim had planned abroad was a July 1-5 state visit to Jordan.
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