Pope
Francis (R) and US President Barack Obama shake hands during
a private audience
on March 27, 2014 at the Vatican (AFP, Saul Loeb)
|
Vatican
City — US President Barack Obama spoke of his admiration for Pope Francis and
invited him to the United States at their first talks on Thursday but got a
reprimand for contraception clauses in his healthcare reform act.
Obama said
he had been "extremely moved" by the Catholic leader's message of
compassion for the needy and said their conversation had focussed on the need
to address "growing inequality" and to show "empathy".
"His
Holiness has the capacity to open people's eyes," Obama said at a joint
press conference with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi after his Vatican visit.
Pope
Francis (R) and US President Barack
Obama exchange gifts during a private
audience on March 27, 2014 at the Vatican
(Pool/AFP,
Gabriel Bouys)
|
The
president also spoke of the "opportunity" for immigration reform in
the US after Francis stressed the plight of families that are being divided by
deportations and are forced to "live in the shadows".
The Vatican
said in a terse statement that the two sides had discussed "the exercise
of the rights to religious freedom, life and conscientious objection" -- a
reference to Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA).
It said
these issues were "of particular relevance for the Church" in the
United States, following a Supreme Court challenge against the law by Christian
employers which is expected to lead to a ruling in June.
The issue
of "Obamacare" and its clause forcing private employers to provide
health coverage for contraception for their employees has incensed US Catholic
leaders who say that it infringes on religious freedoms.
"I
pledged to continue to dialogue with the US Conference of Bishops," Obama
said, referring to a conversation with the Vatican's Secretary of State Pietro
Parolin after his meeting with Pope Francis.
Obama said
there was a need to "strike the right balance" between providing
healthcare for women and ensuring "that religious freedom is still
observed".
"I explained
to (Parolin) that most religious organisations are entirely exempt," said
Obama, who has also faced criticism from Catholic leaders for his support for
gay marriage and abortion rights.
US President Barack Obama (L) is
welcomed by Vatican Secretary of State
Pietro Parolin before a private audience
with Pope Francis on March 27, 2014
at the Vatican (Pool/AFP, Gabriel Bouys)
|
Controversy
over "Obamacare" and the president's drop in popularity could help
Republicans in this year's mid-term congressional elections, which would weaken
the US leader for his remaining two years in power.
'Great
admirer'
Obama told
Francis he was a "great admirer" at the start of their talks at the
Vatican, which political observers said could have been a bid to boost the US
president's support at home among Catholic voters.
"I
invited and urged him to come and visit the United States," Obama said
after Catholic groups spoke of a possible papal visit for the Church's World
Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in September 2015.
The
closed-door talks between the first African-American US president and the first
pope from Latin America lasted around 50 minutes -- slightly longer than papal
meetings with other world leaders.
The two
exchanged gifts afterwards, with the pope offering Obama a copy of his
"apostolic exhortation" from last year in which he excoriated global
capitalism with an invective against the "cult of money".
US President Barack Obama (C) is
welcomed by officials as he arrives for
a private audience with Pope Francis
on March 27, 2014 at the Vatican
(Pool/AFP, Vincenzo Pinto)
|
"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," a smiling Obama said.
The meeting
comes as a welcome rest-stop for Obama during a six-day European tour dominated
by the crisis over Crimea, and the US leader will doubtless be hoping some of
the pope's stardust will rub off on him.
A recent
survey by Saint-Leo University found Francis was popular with 63 percent of
Americans, while a poll last month by CBS News and the New York Times put
Obama's approval rating at just 41 percent.
During his
visit, Obama met President Giorgio Napolitano and Renzi -- at 39, one of the
European Union's youngest leaders and a web-savvy fan of Obama's.
He also got
a private guided tour of the Colosseum.
In an
interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera daily ahead of the meeting, Obama
said Francis "has been an inspiration to people around the world,
including me".
But he added: "It doesn't mean we agree on every issue".
But he added: "It doesn't mean we agree on every issue".
Related Articles:
Barack Obama meets Pope Francis on visit to Vatican
'Great admirer' Obama meets Pope Francis for first time
Barack Obama meets Pope Francis on visit to Vatican
'Great admirer' Obama meets Pope Francis for first time
"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)
“… 3 - Longer Life is Going to Happen, But…
Here is one that is a review. We keep bringing it up because Humans don't believe it. If you're going to start living longer, there are those who are frightened that there will be overpopulation. You've seen the way it is so far, and the geometric progression of mathematics is absolute and you cannot change it. So if you look at the population of the earth and how much it has shifted in the last two decades, it's frightening to you. What would change that progression?
The answer is simple, but requires a change in thinking. The answer is a civilization on the planet who understands a new survival scenario. Instead of a basic population who has been told to have a lot of children to enhance the race [old survival], they begin to understand the logic of a new scenario. The Akashic wisdom of the ages will start to creep in with a basic survival scenario shift. Not every single woman will look at herself and say, "The clock is ticking," but instead can say, "I have been a mother 14 times in a row. I'm going to sit this one out." It's a woman who understands that there is no loss or guilt in this, and actually feels that the new survival attribute is to keep the family small or not at all! Also, as we have said before, even those who are currently ignorant of population control will figure out what is causing babies to be born [Kryon joke].
Part of the new Africa will be education and healing, and eventually a zero population growth, just like some of the first-world nations currently have. Those who are currently tied to a spiritual doctrine will actually have that doctrine changed (watch for it) regarding Human birth. Then they will be able to make free choice that is appropriate even within the establishment of organized religion. You see, things are going to change where common sense will say, "Perhaps it would help the planet if I didn't have children or perhaps just one child." Then the obvious, "Perhaps I can exist economically better and be wiser with just one. It will help the one!" Watch for these changes. For those of you who are steeped in the tradition of the doctrines and would say that sounds outrageously impossible, I give you the new coming pope [Kryon smile]. For those of you who feel that uncontrolled procreation is inevitable, I encourage you to see statistics you haven't seen or didn't care to look at yet about what first-world countries have already accomplished on their own, without any mandates. It's already happening. That was number three.….”
No comments:
Post a Comment