Religion & Law

New York Times

July 10, 2009

Does Obama Have a Friend in the Vatican?

Photo: Chris Helgren/Associated Press President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama met with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Friday.

President Obama received a warm welcome at the Vatican on Friday in his first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Indeed, the Vatican has generally seemed more eager to form a relationship with Mr. Obama than many American bishops, who have been cooler because he differs from the church on abortion and other reproductive issues. The invitation Mr. Obama received to deliver the commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame, for instance, triggered strong public condemnation from conservative bishops.

Why does the American Catholic leadership seem to be focused on abortion, while the Vatican appears willing to view that issue as merely one among many on which to judge a political leader?

• John L. Allen Jr. The National Catholic Reporter
• James Martin, Jesuit priest
• M. Cathleen Kaveny, professor of law and theology
• Colleen Carroll Campbell, Ethics and Public Policy Center

[You can read the commentary, here.]