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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Obama holds first talks with Pope | Obama holds first talks with Pope |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| US President Barack Obama has met Pope Benedict XVI for the first time, after the end of the G8 summit in Italy. | |
| The two met for about 40 minutes in the pontiff's study at the Vatican. No details on what was discussed. | |
| Correspondents said the two were likely to find common ground on subjects like Middle East peace, climate change and the global economic crisis. | |
| They were also expected to address areas on which they disagree, including abortion and stem cell research. | |
| As he shook hands with the pontiff, Mr Obama said it was a "great honour" to meet him. | As he shook hands with the pontiff, Mr Obama said it was a "great honour" to meet him. |
| The US president arrived at the Vatican from the summit in the Italian city of L'Aquila, and told the Pope as he greeted him that the meeting had been "very productive". | |
| 'Friendly tone' | 'Friendly tone' |
| Earlier this week the White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said he thought the talks would be "frank". | |
| "I think that there's a lot that they agree on that they'll get a chance to discuss," Mr Gibbs said. | "I think that there's a lot that they agree on that they'll get a chance to discuss," Mr Gibbs said. |
| The BBC's David Willey reports from Rome that the Vatican has adopted a friendly tone towards the US president since his election last November, despite his change of policy from the Bush administration on funding for embryonic stem cell research. | The BBC's David Willey reports from Rome that the Vatican has adopted a friendly tone towards the US president since his election last November, despite his change of policy from the Bush administration on funding for embryonic stem cell research. |
| The Vatican newspaper has gone as far to defend him against attacks by abortion rights opponents in America, asserting that he is not a pro-abortion president as some American Catholic bishops have said, our correspondent adds. | The Vatican newspaper has gone as far to defend him against attacks by abortion rights opponents in America, asserting that he is not a pro-abortion president as some American Catholic bishops have said, our correspondent adds. |
| Both men have made efforts to reach out to the Muslim world. They also share views about nuclear non-proliferation and arms reductions, and helping the poor cope with the global economic crisis. | |
| This week the Pope published an encyclical - the highest form of papal teaching - in which he argued for an ethical approach towards economic policies and in reorganising the international financial system. | |
| He gave Mr Obama a leather-bound copy of the encyclical as they exchanged gifts following Friday's meeting. | |
| Mr Obama gave the Pope a stole that once covered the body of John Neumann, who lived in the 19th Century and was America's first Catholic bishop to be made a saint. | |
| Before the meeting with the Pope, Mr Obama held talks with the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarciso Bertone. | Before the meeting with the Pope, Mr Obama held talks with the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarciso Bertone. |
| Afterwards, he was travelling to the West African nation of Ghana. |