Statement by Catholic Democrats President On Meeting between Pope Francis & President Obama

In today’s meeting between Pope Francis and President Obama, both of these transcendent leaders met their respective aims that they set out to accomplish. In order to better understand what happened today and its implications, we need to move beyond the tendency to define this relationship in terms of the long-standing narrative that pits the institutional Catholic Church, particularly the US bishops, against the Democratic Party.

We need to look at what did and did not happen. Here is the proper context:

First, we need to recognize that it is incumbent upon the pope to support the US bishops. Second, we must distinguish between what the pope says and does and what the Vatican Press Office says and does. Third, we must also distinguish between the pope’s meeting with President Obama and the meeting that occurred subsequently with representatives from both the Vatican and US State Departments. Fourth, we need to be mindful of what happened in 2009 when Pope Benedict welcomed President Obama to the Vatican for the first time.

Within this context, here is what happened today.

We know that the meeting lasted almost twice as long as planned and twice as long as President Obama’s meeting with Pope Benedict. We know, because it has been reported, that the bulk of the conversation between the pope and president related to issues of common ground, including the poor, the marginalized, and global conflict, as opposed to focusing on bio-ethical issues as it did in 2009. We know that the statements issued by the Vatican Press Office in 2014 and 2009 are strikingly similar. And we know that Pope Francis gave the president a copy of his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel). In 2009, Pope Benedict not only gave President Obama a copy of his recent encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), but also a copy of the instruction issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2008 entitled, Dignitas Personae (Instruction on Certain Bioethical Questions). Dignitas Personae focuses on such issues as embryonic stem cell research, in vitro fertilization, contraception, and abortion.

Taken all together, here is what we can safely glean, and cautiously conclude, from today’s meeting.

The Vatican Press Office provided adequate cover for the grievances of the US bishops against the administration. It is significant that there was little focus by Pope Francis, in contrast to Pope Benedict, on any of the controversial issues that could have separated the pope and the president, particularly because symbolism is at the heart of the Church’s religious practice and has been made into an art form by the institution. It allows us to interpret that his focus was, as we would expect and as President Obama conveyed in the subsequent new conference, on poverty and inequality.

This marks a change in the dynamics of the relationship between the pope and the president. Given the strength of the conviction in the messages of Pope Francis and President Obama, I believe that this should be recognized as a new script, or narrative, that defines their relationship.

Ultimately, the success of the meeting accrues not to Pope Francis or President Obama but to the people in our human family who are in need, who are counting on both of them to continue to provide inspired leadership.

The Catholic Democrats Web site, popeandpresident.net, draws comparisons between their faith and messages of hope.  It also offers people an opportunity to sign a Statement of Hope + Intention to Pray, with them and for them.

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