US President Barack Obama is set to meet Pope Benedict XVI in what is set to be an interesting meeting on July 10th.
Obama is currently under fire in the US for his pro-abortion stance, though any discussion with the Pope is likely to be far more wide ranging than that.
Obama will be in Italy for the G8 summit to be held in the earthquake-stricken town of Aquila in Abruzzo.
He will have an afternoon audience with the Pope that goes against tradition, but it shows that the two leaders are keen to meet and follows the personal note from the Pontiff on Obama’s election victory.
It will be a controversial visit with American bishops anti-Obama for the said abortion stance, while the Vatican seems to have been more accommodating, expressing an open opportunity for the US president and Pope to meet.
Curiously, in America itself, Obama received a majority of Catholic votes, particularly from the Hispanic community.