.bmp)
.bmp)
US President George W. Bus arrived on Friday for a special audience with Pope Benedict XVI, who is returning the hospitality he enjoyed at the White House in April. Swiss Guards in their striped regalia stood to attention as Bush stepped out of a black limousine with his wife Laura and was warmly greeted by the head of the Roman Catholic Church outside the medieval St John's Tower.The US leader could be heard exclaiming "what an honour" as he clasped the pontiff's hands in his.US Ambassador to the Vatican Mary Ann Glendon, a Catholic, kissed the pontiff's hand.Bush and the pope then went into a tete-a-tete in the tower, a venue reserved for illustrious guests instead of the usual site for papal audiences, the pontiff's private library.The two, who also met at the Vatican last year, were later to stroll in the secluded Vatican Gardens.Benedict's trip to the United States coincided with his 81st birthday, which he celebrated in grand style at the White House on April 16, when he was greeted with a 21-gun salute and some 13,500 well-wishers filled the South Lawn.Bush "is a huge fan of the pope and has full respect for him," White House chief of protocol Nancy Goodman Brinker said.The US leader "fully supports the (Catholic) Church and fully supports everything this pope is trying to do on behalf of peace, education and hunger in cooperation with world political leaders," she told the ANSA news agency.Bush, whose relations with pope John Paul II were strained because of the US-led invasion of Iraq, feels closer to Benedict, who appreciates the religious fervour of the president, a born-again Protestant.The two see eye to eye on key social issues, as both are staunch opponents of same-sex marriage, abortion and embryonic stem-cell research, though they diverge notably on the death penalty.Benedict has also voiced his concerns for the plight of Christians in Iraq and over harsh CIA interrogation methods.On Friday, the two leaders will pray before a statue of the Madonna before bidding each other farewell.The Italian press has been rife with speculation that Bush may convert to Catholicism as his brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, did years ago, as well as former British prime minister Tony Blair. The latter two men are both married to Catholics.Bush had talks in Rome on Thursday with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on the third leg of his farewell tour of Europe, which has taken him to Slovenia and Germany and will end with stops in France and Britain.http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080613102122.qn082pr5&show_article=1
As in the days of Noah....
