Spokesman says pope wants honest dialogue with Obama on life issues

Pope Benedict XVI gave President Barack Obama a Vatican document on bioethics, he was trying to be clear with him about church teaching and open a path to further dialogue, the Vatican spokesman said.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the spokesman, told reporters after the meeting between the pope and the president that, in giving Obama the document July 10, "the intention was not to be divisive or political, but for clarity and objectivity; to say that, for us, this is extremely important."

Pope Benedict gave Obama the document "Dignitas Personae" ("The Dignity of a Person"), which was published in December by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In discussing issues such as abortion, artificial fertilization and stem-cell research, the document started with two fundamental church teachings: that the human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception and that responsible human procreation occurs in an act of love between a man and a woman in marriage.

"There was no intention to be polemical," Father Lombardi said. "I do not agree with the idea that the pope was trying to point out their differences."

"It is important to talk about these things and to find a path to dialogue," he said.

The spokesman said Pope Benedict told him after the meeting that he felt Obama listened carefully, and the pope said that "the president explicitly expressed his commitment to reducing the number of abortions" and demonstrated his attentiveness to the church's concerns on a variety of moral issues.

In a briefing aboard Air Force One for reporters accompanying Obama to Accra, Ghana, Denis McDonough, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said the president and the pope had an extensive conversation about bioethics and abortion.

McDonough said the president emphasized his interest in finding common ground on reducing abortion and that Obama said he was looking forward to reading "Dignitas Personae."

Father Lombardi said the Vatican is very well aware of and supports the U.S. bishops in their efforts to try to convince the Obama administration to respect human life.

But, he said, the Vatican did not consult with the bishops in preparing for the visit, which the pope had been looking forward to for months.

"The election of Obama had an impact of global importance" and his policies have been known and followed "by everyone, including the pope and the (Vatican) secretary of state," Father Lombardi said.

"I think here we are talking about a level of attention and knowledge that I would say is very broad," he said.

Ok... you three try to understand this... I am not one of those Catholic bashers... I was right in here everyday fighting the good fight against hussein and ND. I did not do anything more than ask, “I wonder if he realizes he is talking to one of satan’s favorites? I just don't know about this Pope.”

Now ALL that I did was ask a simple question followed by a small pondering statement... ALL three of you had the opportunity to respond in earnest, but you would rather lump me in with some sicko anti Catholic bigot... which I am not... and you cannot find any bashing of the Church in the tens of thousands of posts that I have made here over the years. I have been accused of bigotry here in this thread and both of you have been eager to join in... so be it. Tell me this... what in that simple question and statement was so abhorrent.. so much a blaspheme that I deserved the treatment that you all have given me? Why? Because I dared to ask a simple question that still puzzles me. I guess two centuries ago you guys would have burned me at the stake... again... how Christian.

LLS

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 7:28:32 AM · 38 of 43
LibLieSlayer to presidio9
You are being a jerk... plain and simple. Shut me up big boy... go ahead and prove to me your Christian credentials. I am in no way looking down on Catholicism... and I respect the Pope... but you do have a problem with understanding the meaning of my post and I have had far too many real life necessities interfere with my time, and that is why I chose to let it pass. You are correct about one thing... I should not have posted to you because the evil in your heart and the chip on your shoulder make it impossible to communicate with you. Some Catholic you are... NOT!
LLS

Sunday, July 12, 2009 9:17:26 AM · 32 of 43
LibLieSlayer to presidio9
I do not know where to start with your skewed reality and poor cognitive skills... so I just will not.
LLS

Friday, July 10, 2009 8:17:02 PM · 19 of 43
LibLieSlayer to presidio9
I wonder if he realizes he is talking to one of satan’s favorites? I just don’t know about this Pope.
LLS

*************************
What was that you were saying?

You really are entrenched in your hatred of someone you misunderstand and make no effort to even try to understand. Yes... he was absolutely putting words into my mouth and accusing me of hanging around Catholic haters and getting my opinions from the like. I am 100% pro life and Christian. I hold no malice or ill will towards any of you. I am not wanted in these closed threads so I will avoid them in the future. Funny thing is... you seem absolutely unable to answer simple questions but you certainly know how to attack someone that does not deserve it. My response to you in this thread is to ask (in all sincerity) again what is so abhorrent in my original statement that it required two of you to attack me on behalf of the original person that started attacking me for simply posting a small question and statement of ponderance. I do not expect an answer and I know where I am not wanted.

LLS

I made one simple point: no one said the pope is, has been, or will be Jesus.

We are all called to be Christ-like—to emulate Him in our own small and imperfect ways—and “like Jesus” is the term presidio used.

Benedict is a sinner just like the rest of us, as I’m sure he would happily admit.

Like I said to trisham... don't worry about me any further... I will leave you all alone for as long as I remain on FR. He told me to “shut up” and I was just trying to point out how un-Christian of him that was.

"The Pope is not JESUS... never has been... never will be. I don't know where you go the idea that anybody thought the Pope was Jesus. Most likely from some ingnorant person with a deep hatred of Catholicism I suppose."""""*****

"""""***** Do yourself a favor: If you can't think of anything interesting or relevant to say, just keep your "mouth shut". Your mama should have told you that a long time ago. My post contained nothing that any sane person might find profound or controversal. You wanted to insult me, but you couldn't think of a single intelligent rebuttal, so you posted the lamest cop-out I have ever seen in my ten years on FR. Every bit of what I posted to you was fair and honest. I took pains to keep it that way. Your response to it was uncalled for, making the desperation obvious. You should have gone with your first inclination to not respond at. But since we're past that point, and you've already called me insane and stupid I think you owe me an example from my post that justifies your sudden uncristian reaction. Whatever hateful denomination it is that you belong to, I'm sure glad I missed it."""""*****

A real Christian response there... I am insane... derides my Mother... tells me to shut up... and accuses me of being a member of some "hateful denomination". Do any of you speak English around here? I am done... if I offended your Catholic sensitivities, I deeply and sincerely apologize to each and every one of you... for that was not my intent... but I learned that to dare to ask an honest question brings about responses that are not equal to the perceived crime. I am out of your lives forever. Sad, because I would bet we share much in Christ.

LLS

You were the one that compared the Pope to Jesus... see what I mean about your cognitive skills.

It late, so I only have time to respond to one post this evening/early morning. The reasoning here is the most obviously in need of correction. Your problem here is that you read what you believed to be true about Catholics, instead of what was actually contained in the post. People like you, who harbor inane resentments towards Catholics often assume that Catholics worship the Pope, bow down to him, or are otherwise commanded by him. It's not true, of course, but it certainly helps fuel petty prejudices.

In this case, you even provided the line that you took exception to, but you still misread it. Then you made a lame comment about my cognitive skills and accused me of comparing the Pope to Jesus.

To repeat the line in question: "Perhaps you would be more comfortable with a pope that acted less like Jesus and only hung out with the virtuous?” In fact, I did not "compare the Pope" to Christ. I pointed out that all Christians strive to ACT like Christ. The Pope of Course, as the leader of the Christian Faith (according to Sts Peter & Paul anyway) needs to be someone who sets the example when it comes to Christlike behavior. Even somebody who hates Catholics would acknowledge this. My line and this whole concept are so ridiculously simple that my only possible conclusions are that you are extremely dumb or you have been purposely trying to pick a fight from the beginning. In later posts you question my Christianity and my Catholicism, and yet you seem to be completely unaware that there's a difference between acting like Christ and actually being Christ. Again, the whole point of being a Christian is to act like Christ. Pope Benedict XVI is a man who sins and will one day die, not the Son of God. There can be no comparing the two. Your accusation is incongruous.

At this point, I see it as a toss-up between extremely dumb and trolling for a fight with Catholics.

You are missing the point. I for one am giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming that you are generally a good person who has some bigoted views. Case in point: You accused me of comparing the Pope to Jesus Christ. In other words, you assume that because I am Catholic, I think the two are comparable. This type of thinking results from the common Anti-Catholic mythologies that Protestants use to attack the Pope and belittle the Catholic Faith. If you said what you said out of ignorance, you are still a bigot. You may think you like and respect Catholics, but your views are just as prejudiced as Sonya Sotomayor's were when she made the "wise woman" comment. You are spreading gross misconceptions, and people like me (who are more educated on this particular subject) see it as our duty to correct you. You "just don't know about this Pope" because you just don't know about any Pope. We don't want your help defending Catholicism. We checked this morning, and the Church is still doing just fine. We just want people like you to sit back and learn when it comes to subjects where you clearly don't know enough to form an opinion.

And, again, if you don't think that Jesus Christ would have sat down with Mr. Obama (or Mr. Hitler for that matter) then you're not a Christian by my definition.

I will leave you all alone for as long as I remain on FR. He told me to “shut up” and I was just trying to point out how un-Christian of him that was.

I can't tell you how much I hope you can keep your promise about departing my life forever. In the meantime, I am compelled to point out that I did not tell you to "shut up." I said something to the effect of "if you can't think of anything relevant or intelligent to say, you should do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut." You might want to do a web search on the proper use of quotation marks. What you have done is falsely attributed a quote to me. Not only have you violated the 8th (or 9th Commandment -depending on which religion you ask) but you have also engaged in behavior that used to guarantee immediate suspension on FR. Don't worry, the moderators are a lot more casual about these things when the perpetrator is attacking the Catholic Church. Still, you did violate a Commandment. I sure hope for your sake that your Chistian Happy Meal faith has a Confession Sacrament of some sort.

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