Jul 13, 2009 / 08:44 am
Following Friday’s meeting between Pope Benedict and U.S. President Barack Obama, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson released a statement saying that while he is pleased that the president is interested in engaging in “meaningful dialogue” with the Church, several issues must be addressed by the government to find “authentic common ground.”
During the 36-minute meeting, it was reported by the Vatican that the Holy Father and U.S. President discussed issues such as the promotion of life, the peace process in the Middle East, the global economic crisis and immigration.
In Anderson’s statement, he called the meeting an “achievement for Vatican and American diplomacy” and said it “represents a positive development for those of us who hoped that this meeting might mark a new opportunity in the important relationship between the Catholic Church and U.S. government.”
Turning then to the subject of life and President Obama’s statement to the Pope that he is committed to reducing the number of abortions, the Supreme Knight applauded Obama “for his sensitivity to the growing consensus among the American people favoring the right to life, restriction of abortion, and the protection of conscience.”