The following is attributable to Spokesperson Clayton M. McCleskey:

Yesterday, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Green met with senior Vatican officials in Rome to highlight USAID's commitment to deepening partnerships with Catholic and other faith-based organizations on humanitarian assistance and development. In particular, he reiterated the U.S. commitment to preserving Iraq's rich cultural mosaic and religious and ethnic pluralism.

While visiting the Vatican, the Administrator met with the Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See, His Excellency Archbishop Paul Gallagher. The Administrator thanked the Archbishop for the Catholic Church's humanitarian leadership, and he invited deeper cooperation between USAID and Catholic organizations. He also met with the Prefect for Dicastery for Integral Human Development, His Eminence Cardinal Peter Turkson. They discussed how best to aid the world's most vulnerable, including persecuted ethnic and religious minorities. The Administrator and the Cardinal exchanged views on key humanitarian needs in Iraq and Syria, and also discussed global health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa.

Administrator Green also met with His Eminence Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako, the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon. The Administrator briefed the Cardinal on how U.S. assistance is reaching vulnerable communities in Iraq, including Christians. The Administrator noted this week's announcement of over $178 million in additional U.S. assistance, as well as new partnerships with organizations such as Samaritan's Purse, Yazda, and Caritas Iraq. He also highlighted progress USAID has made toward restoring communities that suffered under the terror inflicted by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and emphasized USAID's ongoing cooperation with the Chaldean Church, which includes current projects in the Ninewa Plains.

While in Rome, the Administrator also visited the Community of Sant' Egidio to discuss the organization's development work. He expressed his hope that USAID can continue to deepen its cooperation with faith-based groups like Sant' Egidio, given their unique perspective and ability to work effectively on the ground in regions such as Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.