Obama, Pope To Meet In Italy

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI and President Barack Obama will meet on July 10, a much-anticipated Vatican audience with a president under attack by some American bishops for his support of abortion rights.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Wednesday the Vatican had informed the White House that Benedict is available to meet the president that afternoon.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs confirmed the meeting and told reporters in Washington that Michelle Obama would accompany the president to the Vatican audience.

The meeting will be at the end of Obama's stay in Italy for a G-8 summit meeting in the earthquake-stricken city of L'Aquila and just before he leaves for Ghana.

Such meetings in the afternoon are unusual for the tradition-conscious Vatican _ most are held at midday. The Vatican clearly sought to accommodate Obama's busy schedule, a sign of Benedict's interest in meeting the American president.

The Vatican has been openly interested in Obama's views, despite his support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research, although some American Catholic bishops have been hostile to his administration.

Benedict broke Vatican protocol the day after Obama was elected, sending a personal note of congratulations rather than waiting to send an official telegram on inauguration day.

L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's daily newspaper, gave Obama a positive review after his first 100 days in office, saying in a front-page editorial than even on ethical questions Obama hadn't confirmed the "radical" direction he discussed during the campaign.

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Tensions grew when Obama was invited to receive an honorary degree at the leading U.S. Catholic university, Notre Dame. Dozens of U.S. bishops denounced the university and the local bishop boycotted the ceremony.

Yet L'Osservatore concluded that Obama was looking for some common ground with his speech, noting he asked Americans to work together to reduce the number of abortions.

Some conservative American Catholics have criticized the Vatican newspaper for its accommodating stance, and some American prelates at the Vatican have been openly critical of Obama.

Former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, who now heads a Vatican tribunal, said the U.S. Democratic Party risks becoming a "party of death."

In an interview with an Italian Catholic newspaper, Burke was quoted as criticizing the party for its stands on bioethical issues, especially in defense of abortion rights.

Benedict had a warm relationship with Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, an abortion opponent, although the Vatican was opposed to the Iraq war.

Polls have shown that Obama received a majority of Catholic votes, especially from the growing number of Hispanic Catholics.

Comments

[SecularNation]

what a waste of time unless Obama convinces the Pope to dismantle the church and turn the Vatican into a museum so that the next generation can learn from the excesses of religious organizations.

Humanity has no need for religion of any kind.

[DrCadr]

The tone in the comments is so below par it's disheartening. I thought people where to be tolerant? You've no balance in your comments against the Pope. Your b.igotry is evident in your lack of ability to accept others different than yourselves.

[Chynna Castillo]

Whether he's genuinely sincere or just doing it for public relations, Pope Ratzinger seems to be more tolerant than most American Bishops.

[mercury613]

Ratzinger opposed a recent UN resolution calling for world governments to decriminalize homosexuality, He is completely fine with people being thrown into prison (or worse) for their sexuality.

Doesn't sound very tolerant to me.

[Artemis34]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/05/brazil-girl-9-has-abortio_n_172273.html

[pragmaticdallasite]

That's sad........

[Artemis34]

So please don't give them any more money to use against people.

[ChiEg]

As a proud, traditional, daily mass going, devout and true catholic, I am thrilled that my Pope and my absolutely decent and good President are going to meet in spite of the wild and bogus cries from the hateful fraudsters masquerading as "good", "conservative" "catholics"...

[pragmaticdallasite]

My sentiments exactly.

[pragmaticdallasite]

.....except for the daily mass-going devout stuff. :)

[mahogany37]

I wonder if the pro lifers will travel to the vatican to protest the visit. Better yet I'm sure bishops and cardinals will issue their many statements of displeasure as they've done with his Notre Dame invite.

[InExileInOhio]

I was wondering the exact same things! Will they dare castigate the Pope for meeting the U.S. President? No, because they haven't the courage. (They'll only do that to the premier R.C. University in the U.S. for being an institution dedicated to dialectic and inquiry.)

[Dustee]

Maybe those ra.pi.st will resign.

[petera63]

Wow!
A live Pope to meet with Jesus himself!
History is being made!

[WhatDaBleep]

Well - he met with Satan not long ago when Bush visited him.

[itsjustanillusion]

Touche'

[pragmaticdallasite]

Ouch!

[Dustee]

Now that's the bottom line.

[DesertZ]

I'll bet money that Ratzinger will use the meeting as a platform to lecture Obama on abortion. Pretty ballsy given his track record as Grand inquisitor and his "corporation's" oppression and mistreatment of women around the world.

[Aplace4everyone]

Good grief. And we thought Mr Obama was too busy dealing with the huge problems facing America, problems so huge that regular work - like making sure that equal rights are protected for all Americans - has to take a back seat.

It certainly would be impolite not to meet with the nice old german shepherd, as Mr Ratzinger is affectionately known by members of his Italian flock, but after submitting himself to the tedium of Mr Berlusconi's inevitable G-8 anecdotes about his underage girlfriends - the last straw that precipitated Mrs Berlusonii to file for divorce - Mr Obama must surely be regarded as indulgent in the extreme for consorting with these old men clamoring to bask in the Obama glow.

[mercury613]

Good point. I wonder how the "Obama has more important things to do than deal with gay rights" camp will spin this one.

Apparently, he has some time to spare.

[Dustee]

Sour grapes all day all the time.

[Retrofuturistic]

What a crock. Obama needs to condemn religion, not suck up to it.

[SILVANUS]

Obama should gift him a new Chanel Gown.

[Artemis34]

The Pope is the Holy See head of state and head of government of Vatican City.

A politician leading a regressive and oppressive government that we've given a seat at the UN!

[daffey]

Imagine regressive and oppresive governments being allowed a seat at the UN. Never heard of that happening before.

[Artemis34]

And our President doesn't have to meet their leaders either.

[expired]

God bless the President and the Pope. I am glad that the Pope is amenable to meeting with our President.

[daffey]

A nice post. Thank you.

[Artemis34]

Like Tiger Woods playing at the Masters...

Vatican, represented at the U.N. by the Holy See, is the only member of the UN that has only male citizens!

We shouldn't even recognize them diplomatically and they should be ousted from the UN.

Women's rights ARE human rights.

[pragmaticdallasite]

There are many countries who have seats at the U.N. with far worse abuses of women's rights. Just because women can't become Priests doesn't mean they're oppressed.

[daffey]

You just openned a can of worms on that one!

[Artemis34]

There is no other "state" in the UN that does not have female citizens.

And of those states to which you refer, how many of them are taking their marching orders from the pope?

I'm sure you know that priesthood is far from the only regressive stance they have taken.

[blindhog]

I hope Obama tells him to rein in his priest in the United States---those who don't seem to care about our immigation policies.

It just seems as though there is an agenda to destroy the United States of America.