Rome, Italy, Jun 2, 2008 / 20:50 pm
Pope Benedict XVI has reportedly canceled meetings with seven world leaders to avoid encountering Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Forty heads of state, including Ahmadinejad, will arrive in Rome on Tuesday for a United Nations summit on the global food crisis. The meeting comes as soaring food prices have pushed at least 22 countries to the brink of catastrophe.
The Telegraph reports that Pope Benedict wished to avoid the publicity that would have accompanied a one-on-one meeting with the Iranian president.
President Ahmadinejad was reportedly eager to meet with Pope Benedict.