ROME - President Barack Obama offered his respect Thursday to a pope who has excited Catholics and non-Catholics alike and refocused the world’s largest religious institution on the issues of poverty and inequality that the president has set as themes of his second term.
Arriving at the Vatican for his morning meeting, Obama enthusiastically greeted the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. “Wonderful meeting you,” the president said. “Thank you, sir. Thank you.” A few minutes later, as he entered the library, the president added, “It is a great honor. I’m a great admirer. Thank you so much for receiving me.”
The president was escorted to his audience with Pope Francis in a slow procession through the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, led by papal attendants in formal attire.Swiss guards dressed in gold and purple uniforms saluted him.
It was the second papal meeting for Obama, who met Pope Benedict XVI on a previous visit to the Vatican. But Thursday’s meeting connected two barrier-breaking global leaders, the first black American president and the Roman Catholic Church’s first modern non-European pope.
With Obama more popular in many countries than he is at home, foreign leaders often seek Obama’s presence to build prestige with domestic audiences. The tables were turned this time as the president, who has slipped in U.S. opinion polls, visited a pope who recently in an interview with an Italian newspaper sought to deflate his “superman” status.
Though their meeting was only scheduled to last a half hour, the private session lasted 52 minutes. The two were smiling and the pope laughed in response to a comment from the president as reporters and senior Obama aides were ushered in at the end of the meeting.
The two spent “the bulk of” their meeting discussing economic inequality and international conflict, Obama said at a news conference later in the day. Despite a “convergence” of interests on the topics, Obama said he doubts the pope would ever forge a direct partnership with a political leader.
“His job is a little more elevated,” Obama said. “We’re down on the ground, dealing with the often profane, and he’s dealing with higher powers.”
Obama said differences between the church and his administration on social issues such as abortion, gay marriage and contraception were “not a topic of conversation” when he and the pope talked.
The mandated coverage of contraception in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was discussed “briefly” in a separate meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, he said.
A Vatican communique said the issues discussed in his meetings, which also included a session with other officials, included “the exercise of the rights to religious freedom, life and conscientious objection.” The language suggested a reference to U.S. Catholic bishops’ opposition to the contraceptives mandate in Obama’s healthcare law.
Francis, who began his papacy by giving up his apartment in the Apostolic Palace to live in a suite in a guesthouse, has raised expectations for change, tempering the church’s emphasis on contentious culture-war issues in favor of economic concerns.
One year into his pontificate, Francis’ popularity among American Catholics surpasses the standing at any time of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, though it doesn’t so far match the enthusiasm for John Paul II, who stood against communism as the Soviet empire started to crumble.
Before moving into the private meeting with Francis, the president said, “I bring greetings from my family. The last time I came here to meet your predecessor, I was able to bring my wife and children.”
Obama presented the pope with a seed chest custom-made with reclaimed wood from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. It held a variety of fruit and vegetable seeds used in the White House Garden.
“If you have a chance to come to the White House, we can show you our garden as well,” the president said.
“For sure,” answered the pope, smiling and speaking in Spanish.
Francis, an Argentine and the first pontiff from the global south, gave the president two medallions, including one that symbolized the need for solidarity and peace between the northern and southern hemispheres.
He also presented Obama a copy of Evangelii Gaudium, or The Joy of the Gospel, a 2013 apostolic exhortation by Francis that called for a renewed focus on the world’s poor.
“I will treasure this,” Obama said. “I actually will probably read this in the Oval Office when I’m deeply frustrated. I’m sure it will give me strength and calm me down.”
The pope responded in English. “I hope,” he said, smiling.
Information for this article was contributed by Mike Dorning and Julianna Goldman of Bloomberg News and by Michael D. Shear and Jim Yardley of The New York Times.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 03/28/2014