Pope meets new Italian prime minister

(November 18, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI has had his first meeting with Italy's new prime minister on the tarmac of Rome's airport just before taking off for a trip to Africa. Premier Mario Monti greeted the Pope Friday morning as the pontiff descended from the helicopter that brought him from the Vatican to Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport. They chatted as they walked slowly across the tarmac to the pope's waiting plane. The Italian Senate on Thursday easily approved Monti’s government, formed of bankers, professors and CEOS aimed at saving Italy from its debt crisis.