President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI held private talks for about 40 minutes this afternoon at the Vatican. Reuters and AFP both report on the meeting at which Obama briefed the Pope on the just completed G-8 Summit meetings. They also discussed the sensitive issue of bioethics on which the two have significant disagreements. Before the President arrived at the Vatican, Michelle Obama and their children Malia and Sasha were given a private tour of St Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. After the private talks, the President introduced his wife and daughters, as well as his mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, to the Pope. Michelle Obama joined the President and Benedict XVI for the traditional exchange of gifts.
A good deal of press attention has been directed at the gifts that the two leaders exchanged. The Pope gave Obama a copy of the Vatican's document on bioethics, Dignitas Personae, as well as a copy of his newest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth). (See prior posting.) Obama said light-heartedly that this would give him some reading material for the plane. The Pope also gave Obama a mosaic depicting St. Peter's Square. Meanwhile, Obama presented the Pope with a stole that had been draped for 18 years on top of the remains of Saint John Neumann, the first American bishop to be formally canonized. The Washington Post has a lengthy account of the meticulous efforts that went into the US choice of this gift.
Ahead of the meeting, commentators suggested that the Vatican is more willing to seek common ground with Obama than are the American Bishops who have been more confrontational. The New York Times yesterday reported on the differences in approach.
