Pope Refused Audience for Rice

DAVID WILLEY / BBC News 19sep2007

Pope Benedict XVI refused a recent request by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the Middle East and Iraq, Vatican sources say.

The Pope refused a request for an audience during the August holidays.

Senior Vatican sources told the BBC the Pope does not normally receive politicians on his annual holiday at the Castelgandolfo residence near Rome.

But one leading Italian newspaper said it was an evident snub by the Vatican towards the Bush administration.

Christian rights

There are at least two reasons why Pope Benedict may have decided peremptorily against a private meeting with Ms Rice.

First, it was Ms Rice who just before the outbreak of the Iraq war in March 2003 made it clear to a special papal envoy sent from Rome, Cardinal Pio Laghi, that the Bush administration was not interested in the views of the late Pope on the immorality of launching its planned military offensive.

Secondly, the US has responded in a manner considered unacceptable at the Vatican to the protection of the rights of Iraqi Christians under the new Iraqi constitution.

The Bush administration has told the Vatican that as coalition forces have not succeeded in securing the whole territory of Iraq, they are unable to protect non-Muslims.

Instead of meeting the Pope, Ms Rice had to make do with a telephone conversation with the Vatican's number two, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who was visiting the US during August on other business.

source: 25sep2007

Pope Declines Vatican ‘Audience Request’
by Condoleezza Rice

JENNIFER GOLD / Christian Today (London) 21sep2007

Pope Benedict XVI has refused a recent request by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to meet for a discussion on the Middle East and Iraq, Vatican sources have reported.

The Pope refused the request which asked for an audience during the August holidays.

The BBC reports that the Pope generally does not receive politicians on his annual holiday at the Castelgandolfo residence near Rome, while one Italian newspaper speculated that the refusal was a snub from the Pope towards the Bush administration.

Relations between the US administration and the Vatican have been patchy since before the outbreak of the Iraq war in March 2003 when Rice told a special papal envoy that the Bush administration was not interested in what the late Pope had to say on the immorality of the US launching its planned military offensive and this may also have contributed to the latest refusal to meet Rice.

In addition, there are murmurs of discontent directed against the US at not adequately securing the protection of the rights of Iraqi Christians under the new Iraqi constitution – something that is unacceptable to the Vatican.

The US said that as coalition forces have not yet secured all of Iraq, it would be unable to offer full protection to religious minorities in the country at this stage.

The Vatican did, however, arrange a telephone conversation between Rice and the Vatican's number two, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

source: 25sep2007

Pope Refuses to Meet Rice

Agence France-Presse 19sep2007

ROME — Pope Benedict XVI refused to meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in August, saying he was on holiday, an Italian newspaper reported Wednesday.

Rice "made it known to the Vatican that she absolutely had to meet the pope" to boost her diplomatic "credit" ahead of a trip to the Middle East, the Corriere della Sera daily reported without citing its sources.

She was hoping to meet the pontiff at his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo at the beginning of August, it said.

"'The pope is on holiday' was the official response," the paper said.

It said the reply "illustrated the divergence of view" between the Vatican and the White House about the "initiatives of the Bush administration in the Middle East."

The newspaper said the pope had rejected all meetings with political representatives during August.

The Vatican press office refused to confirm the report.

US Ambassador to the Vatican Francis Rooney said relations between Washington and the Holy See were close.

"Since the beginning of formal diplomatic relations in 1984, the US and the Holy See have enjoyed a high level of cooperation on a wide array of issues," he said in a statement.

"Our relationship remains strong today. Our working relationship is dynamic and productive at all levels."

source: 25sep2007