By Jim Kuhnhenn and Nicole Winfield
VATICAN CITY (AP) - President Barack Obama called himself a "great
admirer" of Pope Francis as he sat down at the Vatican Thursday with the
pontiff he considers a kindred spirit on issues of economic inequality.
Their historic first meeting comes as Obama's administration and the
church remain deeply split on issues of abortion and contraception.
Obama arrived at the Vatican amid the pomp and tradition of the
Catholic Church, making his way to greet the pope after a long, slow
procession through the hallways of the Apostolic Palace led by colorful
Swiss Guards and accompanied by ceremonial attendants. The president
bowed as he shook hands with the pontiff in the Small Throne Room,
before the two sat down at a wooden table in the Papal Library.
"It is a great honor. I'm a great admirer," Obama said. "Thank you so much for receiving me."
As they meet, the six-year president, with his sinking poll numbers,
would not be blamed for seeking some reflected glory from a pope who,
one year into his pontificate, is viewed as an agent of change in the
Roman Catholic Church.
Obama is the ninth president to make an official visit to the
Vatican. His audience marks a change of pace for the president, who has
devoted the past three days of a weeklong, four-country trip to securing
European unity against Russia's aggressive posture toward Ukraine.
The pope whom Obama will sit with this time is a different pontiff
than the last one to host him. Obama visited Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, a
cordial meeting that nevertheless drew attention to the differences
between the church and Obama on abortion.
To be sure, the relationship between the Obama administration and the
Catholic Church is a fraught one. And Vatican officials say Obama will
not leave without having heard Francis' views on Obama's health care law
and its mandates for contraception coverage. But in Francis, the White
House sees the popular pope and his emphasis on economic disparity as a
form of moral validation of the president's economic agenda.
"Given his great moral authority, when the pope speaks it carries
enormous weight," Obama said in an interview with the Italian daily
Corriere della Sera published ahead of his papal visit. "He can cause
people around to the world to stop and perhaps rethink old attitudes and
begin treating one another with more decency and compassion."
Several presidents have found allies if not comfort in the pope.
President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II famously shared an
antipathy for the former Soviet Union, Reagan the Cold War warrior and
the pope a Polish priest who fought communism in his country and later
in Europe.
"Sometimes in these meetings there are compatible personalities,"
said Paul Begala, a former aide to President Bill Clinton and a Catholic
himself. He recalled being with Clinton when the president met John
Paul II in Denver.
"They were only supposed to meet alone for five minutes," he said in
an interview earlier this year. "Those two gregarious, charismatic men
sat in that room for an hour without another soul in there."
The Obama-Francis chemistry remains to be seen, but thematically both seem to be on some of the same pages.
Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, at the Vatican this week
trying to secure Francis' attendance in Philadelphia next year, said he
expected the Obama-Francis meeting to be good for both the U.S. and the
Vatican.
"We have the most important religious figure in the world as part of
that meeting, and one of the most important political leaders, so
anytime the church and politics come together is an important moment for
dialogue, discussion and the commitment to the common good," Chaput
told reporters Tuesday at the Vatican.
Still, there are difficult areas of discord between U.S. bishops and
the Obama administration over abortion and the administration's health
care overhaul. U.S. bishops were among the most outspoken opponents of
Obamacare, objecting to its mandatory coverage of contraception. The
Supreme Court this week seemed divided when hearing arguments in a case
in which companies argued that they have religious rights and can object
to such coverage based on such beliefs.
Vatican officials noted that during the recent visit of Secretary of
State John Kerry with his Vatican counterpart Cardinal Pietro Parolin,
the cardinal raised the issue of the health care mandate. The Vatican
statement issued after that meeting said Parolin had "expressed the
concern of the U.S. bishops for the reforms in relation to the guarantee
of religious freedom and conscientious objection."
Anticipating that the issue will be a topic of their meeting,
Catholics for Choice published an ad in the International New York Times
Thursday as an open letter to Obama declaring that "Francis'
interpretation of church teachings does not represent that of the
majority of Catholics, especially on issues related to sexuality,
reproductive health and family life."
Francis faithfully backs church teaching on abortion - he has said
he's a "son of the church" - but his emphasis and tone are elsewhere. He
has said he wants his church to be more of a missionary, welcoming
place for wounded souls rather than a moralizing church.
He caused a fuss in November when he decried some conservative
economic theories as unproven. "The excluded are still waiting," he
wrote.
Francis' attention to poverty has also captured the attention of
Republicans, prompting some to stake out high-profile anti-poverty
positions. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has extended a formal and
open invitation to the pope to address Congress when he visits the
United States.
No doubt there is a political dimension to Obama's visit as well. The
president won the Catholic vote in both of his elections, helped by
heavy support from Hispanic Catholics. Some of that support has waned
since.
Meanwhile, the Pew Research Center found that the pope remains hugely
popular, with more than 8 in 10 U.S. Catholics saying they have a
favorable view of the pontiff.
http://www.aol.com/article/2014/03/27/obama-tells-pope-francis-he-is-a-great-admirer/20857819/?ncid=webmail19
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