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Obama charm offensive ahead of pope meeting seems to be working
by John L Allen Jr on Jul. 04, 2009
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Printer-friendly versionSend to friendPDF versionBy JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome
If the White House strategy behind arranging a session for President Barack Obama with religious journalists on the eve of his visit to Pope Benedict XVI was to set a positive tone for that meeting, early returns in Rome suggest it’s working to perfection.
That session last Thursday, in which Joe Feuerherd of the National Catholic Reporter took part, has received extensive and largely positive coverage in the Italian press, including the official outlets of both the Italian bishops and the Vatican – both of which generally reflect important currents in official Vatican thinking.
Obama is set to meet Pope Benedict XVI in the afternoon of Friday, July 10, just after the conclusion of a G8 summit in Italy and just head of the president's visit to Ghana.
In Saturday’s Corriere della Sera, Dino Boff, editor of L’Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops, praised Obama’s “great honesty” and “great intelligence,” saying it was clear that Obama “is not playing the game of trying to divide the Holy See from the American bishops.”
Boff is a widely respected figure in Vatican circles, and his point about appearances of a split between the Vatican and the U.S. bishops is one that has been of growing concern both in Rome and in Catholic circles in America. If Obama was indeed successful in blunting that perception, it could prove important in shaping whatever public statement the Vatican makes after the July 10 session.
“Obama tends to emphasize the points of contact” between his positions and the church, Boff said, “and circumscribes those areas where there isn’t contact, though without ever denying them. When there isn’t agreement, he’s careful to speak in the least annoying fashion for the church.”
Boff noted that while Obama’s respectful style doesn’t resolve all matters of substance, “style is very important for being able to reach agreement.”
In its own Saturday edition, L’Avvenire carried a front-page essay by editorialist Andrea Lavazza arguing that Obama has demonstrated “an attitude of listening and dialogue that deserves not to be under-estimated.”
Like Boff, Lavazza was particularly struck by the respectful stance Obama took vis-à-vis the American bishops.
“In a country that has established a sharp separation between church and state, and in which Catholics were for a very long time a politically ostracized minority … that’s a position that can’t be taken for granted,” Lavazza wrote, adding that it can’t be taken for granted “even in Italy, given the recurrent accusations of interference directed at the church.”
Noting that Obama has expressed a desire to work with the Vatican on the Middle East, anti-poverty efforts, climate change and immigration, Lavazza called those issues “the great challenges of our epoch.”
Lavazza also noted approvingly that Obama has said his concern for the vulnerable comes in part from his experience of Catholic sensibilities, that Obama attends Sunday services, and that he receives a small devotional reflection every morning via e-mail.
L’Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper, carried a small piece about the Obama interview on Saturday, leading off with his words of appreciation for the pope’s leadership role. L’Osservatore emphasized Obama’s insistence that he will always respectfully consider whatever criticisms the American bishops advance.
On abortion, L’Osservatore emphasized Obama’s pledges to help young people avoid unwanted pregnancies, to promote adoption, and to protect the right of health care workers to conscientious objection so they’re not compelled to provide abortion services.
The Vatican paper also touched upon Obama’s repeated pledges to help impoverished nations, a theme that should be much in the air when he meets Pope Benedict. The G8 summit which opens on Wednesday will consider global anti-poverty efforts, which are also expected to figure prominently in the pontiff’s new encyclical letter on the economy, Caritas in Veritate, to be released on Tuesday, July 7.
I find Mr. Allen's caricature
I find Mr. Allen's caricature of President Obama's continuing efforts at rapprochement and cooperation with the American Catholic Church and the Vatican -especially on the tails of the USCCB/Notre Dame boycott fiasco- as a mere "WHITE HOUSE STRATEGY" and "CHARM OFFENSIVE" to be not only downright offensive itself, but actually rather unpatriotic given this July 4 publication date. In the long term, Rome needs Washington a heck of a lot more than Washington needs Rome. Get a red, white and blue clue, John.
I am sure you do not intend
I am sure you do not intend what could be construed, by some, that there does indeed exist an American Catholic Church which is quite different from that of the Vatican and the Magisterium.
Nothing would make Obama and his stooges happier than promoting the idea there is a split in the Church here in the US.
There is no such thing as an "American" Catholic Church. This wording, no matter how subtle, and the misunderstanding of its use and meaning, is an attempt to create division among Catholics here in the US and those in the Vatican. We are one Church, neither Italian, nor American, with our head in Rome, called the Pope. We are one Church with the same beliefs, dogmas and doctrines, wherever we are throughout the world.
We are not the American, Australian, Italian, French, German etc.Church. We are THE Catholic Church, period.
Get a life, Elaine. Of course
Get a life, Elaine. Of course there is an American Church, an Asian Church, an Italian Church, etc... Cultural beliefs and practices have always figured prominantly in Catholic worship and devotional practices. Jesus prayed before he died that "they may all be one..." But that has yet to be fulfilled. We all hope and pray that we will all be one in the fullness of time. But as we in the U.S. up until very recently were divided into red states and blue states, our church has also been divided into progressives and traditionalists, fundamentalists, etc, etc...And this just in the U.S. Why, we can't even agree on how to define the church: some say it's the hierarchy, some say it's the People of God. Some say Vatican II should never have happened. Some think it didn't go far enough.
What world are you living in Elaine?????????????????????
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI and let us all pray that President Obama makes the right choice for LIFE.
I'm not surprised Barack
I'm not surprised Barack Obama's meeting with the Catholic press played well in Italy and the Vatican. Barack Obama speaks more intelligently about religion than any president I can ever remember. George W. Bush said he had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, and rarely spoke about religion, intelligently at least, again. Reagan and Clinton spoke about religion only in passing. The only time I can remember Bush the elder talking about religion was to say that he didn't like a lesbian minister in the Episcopalian Church. Jimmy Carter could actually discuss Christianity, but even he kept religion talk to a minimum. The best encounter I can think of between a president and religion is F.D.R.'s prayer he recited on the radio on June 6, 1944 asking for God's help.
Steve
"L'Osservatore Romano, the
"L'Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper..."When did l'Osservatore Romano become the official Vatican newspaper AND THUS superseding the ACTA APOSTOLICAE SEDIS?
Dear John, it is not a "charm
Dear John, it is not a "charm offensive" but merely Obama plainly stating what he thinks and believes. Why must everything be interpreted as a form of manipulative warfare?
The subjects of this meeting
The subjects of this meeting are not for religious purity, but for commercial interests with a desire for stimulating the economy and helping the poor. President Obama is not trying to divide the Holy See from the American bishops; he is trying to divide the wisdom and guidance of God from the American people. The Catholic Church unwittingly is part of this in that the president cannot say, see, the Catholic Church says to follow the words of God, for the church, as well all its daughter churches, have forsaken the word of God and gone to worshiping Jesus, Mary and Saints without the wisdom of God to be found, read and followed.
For President Obama to be praised for his honesty is repugnant to those of us who fight for him to show his identity papers to prove he is even eligible to be president. All the evidence available says he was a foreign student of Indonesia in America on a student visa and that he took financial aid available only to foreign students. This alone makes him ineligible to be president. In a strong show of deception, he has spent about one million dollars to keep from showing his school records, passports, and full birth information. This is that spirit of lawlessness that pervades the world today. Charges and evidences are on my websites, court style, for people to decide for themselves: http://www.divine-way.com/forgery_evidences_sss_reg_colb_birth_cert_for_... and http://obama-birth-cert-forged-sss-impeach.blogspot.com. He is in a dangerous position where he could be blackmailed by people with his records, such as Kenya, Pakistan, Indonesia and classmates and school officials, and even his own administration. It is difficult to trust his intentions or policies. A leader who is deceitful in his identity will not likely be truthful in other matters. This is something for the pope and Catholic news agencies to be aware of. He is a very charming man and a great speaker; remember the devil seeks whom he may destroy.
The United States does not have an established sharp separation between church and state. That is not in our Constitution and it is something the government keeps trying to impose upon us. To the Catholic Church's credit, they have tried to lift a standard in some areas. America and the world is looking for leadership that will lift them into God's word for true unity without dismantling the word of God that God gave to prophets around the world.
Proverbs 14:15 "The simple believes every word: but the prudent man looks well to his going."
When I was in Catholic
When I was in Catholic college in the 50's, we used to argue politics goodnaturedly and with good humor coopt the Church to our side. "No salvation outside the democratic party!"
Now the debates are serious and the accusations bitter. The new loveless dogma seems to be: "No salvation outside the republican party."
Obama does nor says anything
Obama does nor says anything without contemplating the possible outcomes, and in his meetings with the Catholic Press, he was on top of his game. I say this because I believe Obama has pulled the wool over the eyes of the Catholic press and many bishops. He is a master of the dance, and knows his audiences very well, and knows how to placate them. He will sound very respectful when he meets the Holy Father, and will listen, but that is all he will do. Even as a Christian, his beliefs about abortion are not in standing with the faith, and if he thinks Jesus would be open and receptive to the gay lifestyle, then he does not know his Bible. Obama will court Catholics so he does not lose their votes, and that is all he cares about.
Marie Devine says, "President
Marie Devine says, "President Obama is not trying to divide the Holy See from the American bishops; he is trying to divide the wisdom and guidance of God from the American people.The Catholic Church unwittingly is part of this in that the president cannot say, see, the Catholic Church says to follow the words of God, for the church, as well all its daughter churches, have forsaken the word of God and gone to worshiping Jesus, Mary and Saints without the wisdom of God to be found, read and followed."
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Marie, while I agree with you that "President Obama is trying to divide the wisdom and guidance of God from the American people", I have to challenge you on your ignorance of what the Catholic Church actually teaches. You are obviously a devout Christian and think that you are stating true facts about the Catholic Church. However, you falsely assume that our prayers and devotions to Mary and the Saints is actually "worship". We Catholics can only worship God and would be rightly chastised for worshiping Mary and the Saints. Please do some research into the true teachings from the Catholic Church before making such false accusations and portray them as true.
May I suggest the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" as a starting point.
Thank you...And may God Bless and guide the upcoming meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and President Obama!
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