Giorgia Meloni faces awkward weekend at funeral of pope whose values she opposed

Italian PM and pontiff could not have been further apart on issues such as migration, climate crisis and economy

It is an awkward weekend for Giorgia Meloni. The Italian leader will host a gathering of world leaders to say goodbye to a much-revered pope whose public views - from the treatment of people fleeing war to the climate crisis - were diametrically opposed to hers.

While Pope Francis was a staunch advocate for asylum seekers, and blessed the vessels that saved refugees at sea, Meloni once said Italy should repatriate migrants back to their countries and then sink the boats that rescued them".