Biden to Meet Ally Pope Francis ahead of G20 Summit

Biden to Meet Ally Pope Francis ahead of G20 Summit

FILE - In this April 29, 2016, file photo Pope Francis shakes hands with Vice President Joe Biden as he takes part in a congress on the progress of regenerative medicine and its cultural impact, being held in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

As world leaders flock to Rome for the G20 summit, President Joe Biden kicks off a trip aimed at reasserting US international credentials, starting at a meeting Friday with Catholic ally Pope Francis.

The president left Washington with a spring in his step after unveiling a "historic" framework for a vast social spending plan -- although it remains to be seen if it can win the support of lawmakers.

After weeks of internal party feuding, and with his personal ratings slumping, Biden wants to use the twin summits in Europe this week -- the G20 and UN climate talks in Glasgow -- to prove his political clout.

He sees himself as the spokesman for democracy in the face of authoritarian regimes, notably China.

But he opens the trip on a more intimate note, having landed early Friday in Rome, he will head first to the Vatican, for what is expected to be a largely