By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
President Barack Obama will meet with Pope Benedict XVI tomorrow in Rome where the two are expected to have a “frank” discussion about abortion. During the meeting, the president and first lady will present the Pope with a stole that was draped over the body of St. John Neumann of Philadelphia. Limited coverage of the meeting will be televised live by Catholic TV.
The much anticipated meeting between the Pope and President Obama is scheduled to take place tomorrow, July 10, at 4:00 p.m., just before the president leaves for Ghana after attending the two day G8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy.
According to the Associated Press, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters onboard Air Force One that he believed there would be a “frank discussion” about abortion during the hour long papal audience. Gibbs said “even if we don’t see eye to eye on everything, there are steps that can be taken on a number of issues that will show progress, whether it’s on something like unintended pregnancy or adoption.” Gibbs said the pontiff is “somebody that gets to see a lot of the world, and I think getting his continued support for these efforts is obviously important.”
The two are also expected to find some common ground, however. On Tuesday, the Vatican released the pope’s new social encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), which calls for the creation of a new worldwide economic authority, for redistribution of the world’s wealth, protections of workers and respect for the environment – all subjects upon which the pope and the president have much in common. However, the document’s unequivocal refusal to accept an “anti-birth” mentality that promotes birth control and abortion will be an obvious sticking point.
During the meeting, the president and first lady Michelle Obama are expected to present the pope with a stole that had been draped around the enshrined body of St. John Neumann in Philadelphia for nearly 20 years.
The ivory stole, with gold, crimson, and blue trim, had been wrapped around the body of Neumann, the first U.S. bishop to be named a saint, since 1989. It was removed in 2007 when the body was redressed and had been kept at the church until the White House contacted a suburban Philadelphia Catholic shop owner, Louis DiCocco 3rd of The Catholic Shop, who had provided similar presidential gifts to popes in the past.
According to DiCocco, a State Department official called the shop in June to ask for advice on a papal gift and was at first considering an antique chalice, but felt the stole would have more historical significance. DiCocco hand-delivered the stole to State Department officials on July 1.
“It’s a sacred gift,” said the Rev. Kevin Moley, pastor of the National Shrine of St. John Neumann to the Philadelphia Inquirer. ” . . . (I)t represents the U.S. and Rome. We should all be pleased and thankful.”
Portions of Friday’s meeting, which is expected last less than an hour, will be televised on CatholicTV, a nationally broadcast television network headquartered near Boston at noon Eastern time on Friday, and rebroadcast at 8:00 p.m. The broadcast will also be available for viewing 24 hours a day at www.CatholicTV.com.
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