Unwilling to be dragged into the US election, the Vatican denies Mike Pompeo a meeting with the Pope

The Vatican has denied a request from Mike Pompeo for an audience with Pope Francis, and accused the Secretary of State of trying to drag the Catholic Church into the US presidential election. The extraordinary remarks from the two top diplomatic officials at the Vatican came after Mr Pompeo accused the Church in an article and a series of tweets this month of putting its "moral authority" at risk by renewing an agreement with China over the appointment of bishops.