Posted on 07/05/2009 12:30:31 PM PDT by presidio9
When Pope Benedict XVI greets U.S. President Barack Obama at the Vatican on July 10, the symbolism and sheer star power of the encounter will keep the pundits chattering away. The photo op alone is worth a thousand words: The 82-year-old man in white, the world's most recognizable religious leader and head of its largest single denomination comes face-to-face with the charismatic first black President of the world's last superpower. And the scheduling efforts of both the Vatican and the White House suggest a shared appreciation of the symbolic weight the first encounter between Obama and Benedict could carry.
It was confirmed last week that the two would meet during a highly unusual Friday, 4 p.m. slot immediately after Obama finishes the G8 summit in Rome and prepares to depart for Ghana. Pontiffs almost always meet with visiting dignitaries before lunch, but that's not an option for Obama. And the fact that Benedict leaves Rome two days later for his summer holiday in the Italian Alps has some speculating that the pontiff had delayed his departure in order to be there when the new U.S. President comes to town.
Once they've allowed the photographers their opportunity, Benedict and Obama will speak alone and in private for what will likely be less than one hour. To paint the Obama-meets-Benedict dossier in broad strokes, says one senior Vatican diplomat, "It's basically the reverse of Bush." In other words, the Pope tends to appreciate the new President's less aggressive approach to foreign affairs, while clashing on ethical matters such as abortion rights and stem cell research — where President George W. Bush was seen by the Vatican as one of the few like-minded Western leaders on social issues,
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
I’ve heard the Pontiff has been eagerly trying to get a slot in Obama’s schedule, what with how Obama is going to set him straight on all freaking things under the sun, and all.
I hope the Pope tells Bozo that he is too busy to see him because he is baptizing babies!
666 !!!
Unless the Pope planned an exorcism on Barry, I don’t see the big deal.
matter-antimatter annihilation
HAHAHAHA!
Because Michelle is sure to show her non manners in one way or another.
Would they still be eligible for post-birth abortion according to the Illinois State Senate?
Well, at least they’ll share common ground in undermining Israel with their joint insistence for the creation of a philistinian state.
TIME in the TANK.BO should be treated like
“I’m better than anyone else” N Pelosi.
Both Osama and the MSM will see this as a successful power play on the part of Osama. Neither will be capable of seeing it for what it is, the exercise of humility.
Only an obvious moment of analysis...but Time writes this kind of first-year college paper and publishes this as “news”?
The minor league analysis offered by Time is silly. The Pope and the church will lay out the problems and weaknesses of this administration...and offer to help move them to the right strategy. The President will attempt to smile and try to get his message across...but the Pope won’t be buying into this deal.
BTW, I’m hoping y’all got a chance to read the entire article. It was only a couple of paragraphs longer, but I had to cut it there. The subheading was not mine, it was from the article. Intrepid Time Magazine reporter actually does get into Pope Benedict XVI’s reasons for seeking out this meeting (which he did not seek out). Apparently, after 2000 years the Church could use the help of a man who voted “present” on the Born Alive Infant Protection Act to get its message out. Thanks Barry.
Maybe Obama will give the Pope an IPod with his address to NARAL and Deicide’s greatest hits already loaded up. Maybe he could toss in Jenna Jameson’s book as well.
Visualize Excommunication.
Barry won’t be able to go on a world tour to manage the recession he’s made worse and deepened.
At some point he and the Democrats will be toast.
As it is, if voters would read more about who did what they would NEVER have given Barney Frank who caused a lot of the mess more pals in the Congress and Senate.
I hope the Pope starts off by throwing Holy water on President Barry. Would be a hoot if he starts to melt...
It’s good to see what the enemy is saying.
With Obama’s help, the Catholic Church can begin to right itself once again? I just bet ....
Obama can help the Catholic Church find a mission, relevance, staying power.
Benedict, 2000 years of St. Peter. Obama, 6 months of Richard Daley.
One would hope the Pope will remind the pro-abortion Obama that his conduct will lead him straight to hell.
This assinine comment serves no purpose in the context of this article, other than to let the reader know you have a perjudice of some sort against the Catholic Church. You obviously did not read any of Pope Benedict XVI's comments about Palestine, which were 100% neutral. President George W. Bush gave a speech on June 24 2002 in which he proposed a Palestinian state. It was a lot more specific. I suppose you lump him in witrh Obama and Arafat for that one. Not.
“Obama will help the Catholic Church find its footing in the world”
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
YEAH RIGHT
Exactly- GWB was against all kinds of abortion while zero wanted to allow live birth abortion....nothing could be more opposite...
The Roman Catholic Church has been around for almost two thousand years. "0" has only been around for a few. What an arrogant, narcissistic buffoon!
Although I do not for one second, in my heart, believe that uhbama, inside, gives two hoots and one hollar what the Pope believes or has to say.
uhbama is a narcissist. He will do what he has to for the photo op, tell the Pope he hopes abortions lesson, and then be on his merry way.
I hope the Pope is armed with words that shake the very soul of uhbama.
And that will be my prayer.
In the ambassador noms, O has been sending deliberately insulting candidates to the Vatican. The pope refused to make any comment on honoring Obama with a degree at Notre Dame.
Wouldn’t that be grand?
“the symbolism and sheer star power of the encounter “
“And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. “ - Luke 16:15
Love to be a fly on the wall. It’s about time Obama made time in his schedule for the Holy Father.
The press will have their carefully worded review for our edification of how well the event went and how charming Michelle was. Maybe it's already typed! ;-)
Obama isn’t pretending to be a Catholic, so the Pope is less likely to read him the riot act.
And Kerry, Rudy, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Pelosi, and all the rest of those clowns.
I've always liked this Pope. But when he expresses hope for a philistinian state he's lost me.
Bush was wrong about it too, so on that score, yeah, I'd "lump him in" with Arafat, Obama and you evidently.
**the Pope is less likely to read him the riot act.**
Personally, I’d rather see the Pope Publicly Refute Nobama, and announce He will NOT RECEIVE the President for any reason.
Bless their hearts, sometimes even the Vatican is politically tone deaf.
Watch Raymond Arroyo’s show at the beginning on EWTN on Friday evening called “The World Over” - if anyone catches the mood or tidbits out of it he will have it from the Vatican view. He is very witty. Good friend of Laura Ingraham I believe.
***Obama isn’t pretending to be a Catholic, so the Pope is less likely to read him the riot act.***
That reminds me: a year ago, the press was full of speculation that GWB would convert, much as Tony Blair and Newt Gingrich wound up converting.
But to the matter at hand; Obama doesn’t act like a Christian, much less a Catholic.
There was a lecture/homily on EWTN about the result of education without virtue: Men begin to think they’re God.
Here is a study in contrasts!
“Sooo, dumpkopf, you sink you are Messiahh, ya?”
Yes it was, and many here forget, he was the first sitting President to do so. Just one of my many beefs with GW, along with Open borders, and allowing our troops to be put on trial, by fake civilian charges.
Anything short of that? I`m not interested, sorry.
Well, you weren't very persuasive in your argument in your choice of article to link. I had thought your point was that Barak Obama and Pope Benedict were the only two world leaders calling for the so-called "two state solution" in Israel, so I pointed out that President GW Bush had also done so. Your response was a convoluted article from the Times of London. Leaving aside the fact that the Times has a long history of taking every anti-Catholic position available, I could have found you a dozen articles that made a better case for the charge I assume you are grasping at.
The clear point that the Times is making is that some people in Israel think the Pope is an anti-Semite, and they may be right. The article says that the right-wing government was angered by "his call for a Palestinian homeland," but it fails to quote the man directly (in a long article). Even the Israelis would go along with a two-state solution if the right conditions were met. The press did the same thing with John Paul II, when he called for peace in Iraq and the MSM implied that he was calling Saddam Hussein an OK guy. For a Christian, the Pope's reaction to any diplomatic crisis is 100% predictable: He has WWJD tattooed on his eyelids. Sometimes he gets it wrong, but that's his only blueprint for any controversy. Obama might call for two states out of fundamental character weakness. The Pope always argues from the strength of his convictions. That's how he got to be Pope.
The rest of the article recycles several tired anti-Catholic prejudices (BTW, Jews can also be guilty of bigotry). The article implies that some Jews are mad that the Vatican is making Puis XII a saint. Interesting that some (unnamed) people feel that way, but it is a lie based on a falsehood. Only the Pope can make the decision on beatification (he has not). Elevation to sainthood takes miracles, which no Pope can supply. These days, if all sainthood required was a Pope's approval, Mother Theresa would already be a saint. And the myth that Puis XII somehow collaborated with the Nazis, or even did less than was in his power to end the Holocaust has been thoroughly debunked. Sixty years ago prominent Jews like Golda Meir and Alfred Einstein had already come out on the side of the Catholic Church concerning this controversy. I don't know if Puis XII was a saint, but the man has been completely exonerated to all but conspiracy theorists. Leave it to the Times to bring it up again here. I don't remember Israel's government doing so. Just like the Times reporting "some demanded the Pope be arrested" over supposed Jewish treasures hoarded by the Vatican. A pretty strong accusation, but the writer failed to identify the "some" or anything about the nature of the stolen treasures. I hope you see the pattern here.
I posted you to rebut a dumb point you made. I offered the facts, and took no side in the argument. That didn't stop you from making assumptions about me. I have no love for the Palestinians -and, yeah, that's the name they're going by these days. So unless you're prepared to start referring to the Italians as "Romans," you're just going to end up sounding ignorant and inconsistent to a lot of people. Calling them by their current name doesn't make you a sympathizer. That being said, I see nothing wrong with hoping for a day when they can be allowed to have their own state. I don't see that happening, but it's a nice thought. That was George Bush's thought, and the Pope's too. It does not lump any of us in, as you so simplistically did, with Arafat or Obama. If you fail to grasp the simple logic here, you have zero standing to pass judgment on any of us.
Looks like you missed the same point. See if post 47 helps.
The Pope is not in a position to disqualify anyone from "the Christian faith." He could tell Obama that he has automatically excommunitcated himself from Catholicism through his pro-abortion legislation, but I doubt that Obama, a non-Catholic, would care very much. The Pope will undoubtedly offer a strong rebuke against abortion, but, again, I doubt he will care very much. Some presidents have had relationships with Popes, but this is nothing more than a photo-op.
He will. Obama won't care.
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