Obama & Family Meets Pope
President Barack Obama sat down with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Friday for a meeting in which frank but constructive talks were expected between two men who agree on helping the poor but disagree on abortion and stem cell research.
The Obamas meet with Pope Benedict XVI Friday. The Vatican changed a long-standing tradition of meeting leaders at midday in order to accommodate the president before he left Italy for his first official trip to Africa.
The pope and Obama met for half an hour, then were joined by first lady Michelle Obama, who wore black.
With some Catholic activists and American bishops outspoken in their criticism of Obama, even as polls have shown he received a slim majority of Catholic votes, the audience was much awaited. Former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, who now heads a Vatican tribunal, accused Obama of pursuing anti-life and antifamily agendas. He called it a "scandal" that Notre Dame had invited him to speak earlier in the year. Obama also incensed many in the religious community with his requirement that all religious references to Jesus (crosses and inscriptions like "IHS" (in his name)) be covered during his speech at Georgetown, another Catholic university.
This week, Cardinal Justin Rigali, who heads the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, complained that the final guidelines of the National Institutes of Health for human embryonic stem cell research are broader than the draft guidelines.
As Obama has pledged to step-up efforts for Middle East peace through a two-state solution, Benedict made a similar appeal during a trip in May to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. He issued the Vatican's strongest call yet for a Palestinian state.
Obama met first with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, before meeting Benedict in the pope's study.
Obama's wife, Michelle, joined him at the end of the meeting, and gifts were exchanged. Daughters Malia and Sasha, who accompanied their parents on the weeklong overseas trip (at taxpayers expense), also met Benedict. They were ushered out of the room before the media were allowed back in. Several senior White House staff members also met the pope, with some either shaking his hand or kissing his ring. See Chick's THE POOR POPE.
The Obamas meet with Pope Benedict XVI Friday. The Vatican changed a long-standing tradition of meeting leaders at midday in order to accommodate the president before he left Italy for his first official trip to Africa.
The pope and Obama met for half an hour, then were joined by first lady Michelle Obama, who wore black.
With some Catholic activists and American bishops outspoken in their criticism of Obama, even as polls have shown he received a slim majority of Catholic votes, the audience was much awaited. Former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, who now heads a Vatican tribunal, accused Obama of pursuing anti-life and antifamily agendas. He called it a "scandal" that Notre Dame had invited him to speak earlier in the year. Obama also incensed many in the religious community with his requirement that all religious references to Jesus (crosses and inscriptions like "IHS" (in his name)) be covered during his speech at Georgetown, another Catholic university.
This week, Cardinal Justin Rigali, who heads the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, complained that the final guidelines of the National Institutes of Health for human embryonic stem cell research are broader than the draft guidelines.
As Obama has pledged to step-up efforts for Middle East peace through a two-state solution, Benedict made a similar appeal during a trip in May to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. He issued the Vatican's strongest call yet for a Palestinian state.
Obama met first with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, before meeting Benedict in the pope's study.
Obama's wife, Michelle, joined him at the end of the meeting, and gifts were exchanged. Daughters Malia and Sasha, who accompanied their parents on the weeklong overseas trip (at taxpayers expense), also met Benedict. They were ushered out of the room before the media were allowed back in. Several senior White House staff members also met the pope, with some either shaking his hand or kissing his ring. See Chick's THE POOR POPE.
posted by chickcomics | 9:38 AM
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