The two leaders do have several concerns in common, noted Broderick Johnson, President Obama’s assistant and Cabinet Secretary. It’s only the 2nd time a Pope has been at the White House. I would never argue that Benedict is a better or kinder person than Francis, but I think the response he elicited from the gay community, and from the world in general, was far more helpful. Most summits are tightly scripted.
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While papal meetings are now an expected part of the presidency, the politics for the American leaders can be tricky.
Presidents usually have important visitors come to them, at the White House. After the creation of man and woman, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good” (Gen 1:31).
Pope John Paul II did not meet with dissidents when he visited in 1998. “The trappings of office are different from anywhere else”. Just to meet him was special.
Two children gave him a copy of a century-old letter from islanders to Pope Benedict XV asking him to declare the Virgin the patroness of Cuba.
“If the Pope wants to devote his life to fighting climate change then he can do so in his personal time”.
It was July 1963, barely four months before JFK’s assassination, and for many Catholic Americans, it was a proud moment of reaffirmation of their faith and pride in their country.
There have, though, been some tensions in the past summits.
The first reigning pontiff to visit the United States was Pope Paul VI, who made a one-day stop in New York to address to the United Nations in 1965. The pope is scheduled to address a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday, the first pontiff to do so. Wilson demanded an explanation. He blessed a beggar by kissing his feet. “Down with the dictatorship” at Benedict’s Mass at the city’s main square.
Pope John Paul’s visit way back when was not without a touch of irony.
“Personally I feel very satisfied with the recognition implied by the fact that they invited us to the pope’s activities”, she said.
In his final formal event in Cuba, the pope has called on Cubans to strengthen the bonds of family, which he calls “true spaces of freedom”. But this makes him unpopular with the American right.
During the 1980s, Dominican priest and theologian Matthew Fox espoused a creation-centered theology that looked at the beauty and goodness of creation, including human beings. But Carter called them “heroes”. And we are free to pursue that relationship with God any way we see fit.
On the other hand, Obamas Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, appreciated Pope John Paul IIs opposition to abortion rights. John Paul II and Benedict XVI enjoyed a customized first-class experience – with the front of the plane transformed by the carrier into a hotel-like room, complete with bed and desk – but Francis has insisted that he sit in a regular row in standard first class. A dinner was later staged in honor of Pope Benedict at the White House. But the pope-according to his surgeon-thought otherwise.
Prior to that meeting, a combination of Protestant domination in the United States, anti-Catholic sentiment, questions about who really led the Catholic Church and the difficulties of travel had kept presidents and popes apart. “I was speaking and he was looking at one of the walls, admiring the frescoes and the paintings”.
Imagine my surprise when just six years later, Benedict announced he was stepping down. But he went out of his way not to embarrass the president in his arrival remarks at the White House.
During the seven year gap, a total of 12 British Prime Minister visits, 8 German chancellor visits and seven visits from the Russian president were accommodated by the White House. But Charlie Kupchan, senior director for European Affairs on the National Security Council, acknowledged there could be surprises. “And we know from his previous travels that we don’t know what he’s going to say until he says it”.
“On climate change, on poverty, on income inequality, and on Cuba”, Broderick said, citing some examples of where the President and Pope’s priorities align.
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That point referred to a major disagreement over mandatory contraceptive coverage under Obama’s health care law. But, as staffers repeatedly warn, the agenda is fluid. Pope Francis – Jorge Mario Bergoglio – uses the language of liberation theology that sustained me (and a lot of other people) from the 1970s onward. Jokingly, he added, “He and Obama may disagree a bit on which of them is more infallible”.
