Brown in 'cordial' meeting with Pope

Gordon Brown was at the Vatican today for his first meeting Pope Benedict XVI since becoming Prime Minister in 2007.

Mr Brown was received in a private audience with the Pope during which they discussed the global financial crisis and its implications for aid to developing countries.

The Vatican later described the meeting as "cordial" and said the two had also discussed "the duty to pursue initiatives benefiting the less developed countries, and to foster cooperation on projects of human promotion, respect for the environment and sustainable development".

The Vatican added that "hope was expressed for a renewed commitment on the part of the international community in settling ongoing conflicts, particularly in the Middle East".

A Vatican spokesman said that the Pope would not take up Mr Brown's invitation to visit the UK. The last pontiff to visit Britain was the late Pope John Paul II nearly 30 years ago.

The front cover of today's edition of Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano featured an article on the economic crisis written by Mr Brown.

In it, he wrote, "From Rio to Rome, and from London to Lagos we are confronted by one of the greatest economic challenges of our generation."

The crisis, he warns, is impacting the world's poorest people.

"It means hunger for millions more people, less education, and fewer health services," he said.

"I know that the Catholic Church and His Holiness share these worries.

"It is our common duty to ensure that the needs of the poorest countries are not regarded as an after thought, added as a moral obligation or out of a sense of guilt."

The director of Catholic aid agency CAFOD, Chris Bain, called on Mr Brown to put people before business and economics.

He was quoted by think tank Ekklesia as saying, "Today, because of the global recession, millions more people are being driven deeper into poverty. In the developing world, it is for many a matter of life and death.

"As part of the G20, Gordon Brown must right the wrongs of institutionalised greed and create a new financial model which acts for the common good. At the G20 negotiating table, he has the opportunity to be the voice for those excluded from the talks – developing and emerging economies – and it is his moral responsibility to secure their financial futures as well as our own.

"The meeting with the Pope is important ahead of the G20, because it sends the message that economics and business should serve people. CAFOD hopes that Gordon Brown will find the spiritual courage to put people first."