{"id":5887,"date":"2014-03-27T17:49:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T17:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/obama-meets-with-pope-at-time-of-tense-relations-with-church\/"},"modified":"2014-03-27T17:49:00","modified_gmt":"2014-03-27T17:49:00","slug":"obama-meets-with-pope-at-time-of-tense-relations-with-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/03\/obama-meets-with-pope-at-time-of-tense-relations-with-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama meets with Pope at time of ‘tense’ relations with Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Mar 27, 2014 \/ 11:49 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- U.S. President Barack Obama\u2019s March 27 meeting with Pope Francis comes at a time of tension between his administration and the Church over religious liberty, several Catholic leaders have said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThere has been a great deal of acrimony over issues related to religious freedom. This is something new and quite serious, since it affects the ability of the Church to carry out its mission,\u201d V. Bradley Lewis, a philosophy professor at the Catholic University of America, told CNA March 26.<\/p>\n

\tHe said relations between the U.S. government and the Catholic Church are \u201cquite vexed \u2026 I don't believe they have been this vexed in my memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tMany Catholic dioceses, charities, universities, health care systems, and even the Little Sisters of the Poor, have filed legal challenges against the Obama administration\u2019s mandate requiring most employers to cover or aid access to procedures and drugs that violate Catholic teaching: sterilization and contraception, including some abortion-causing drugs.<\/p>\n

\tLewis said that the contraception mandate has been \u201ca source of great tension,\u201d it is \u201cnot an isolated incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Obama administration has revised conscience protection rules in federal health care law, and argued against protecting the hiring decisions of religious groups before the U.S. Supreme Court \u2013 an argument rejected in a unanimous decision by the justices.<\/p>\n

\tThe administration also ended a contract with the U.S. bishops to help human trafficking victims. Its allies opposed the grant because the program would not facilitate access to abortion and contraception.<\/p>\n

\tLewis commented that Pope Francis is in a \u201cvery strong position\u201d to make a case to the president about the importance of religious freedom, \u201cin a way that cannot be perceived as politically motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI hope the president will listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tChad Pecknold, a religion professor at the Catholic University of America, agreed with Lewis that the Obama administration\u2019s relationship with the Catholic Church has been \u201ctense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cSome bishops have described the administration as hostile to the Catholic Church, and coercive of conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe attributed these hostilities largely to the government\u2019s agenda, rather from \u201cany hostility of the Church toward the duly-elected government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPecknold said Pope Francis is not unaware of these tensions, and though he will have wanted to diffuse them, \u201che will almost certainly seek to stand with the fight for religious liberty, to defend the weak and unborn against the unjust exercise of free choice.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tHe said it was unusual for U.S. presidents to visit the Pope until after the Second Vatican Council; but since John F. Kennedy\u2019s presidency, every U.S. president has met with the Pope.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis particular meeting between President Obama and Pope Francis is significant as their first meeting, and because of perceived symmetries between them on questions of economic justice,\u201d Pecknold reflected.<\/p>\n

\tHowever, he added that such meetings are \u201cso often symbolic,\u201d and it is uncertain whether substantive discussions take place.<\/p>\n

\tLewis said the Pope is a \u201cunique world leader\u201d who has \u201cno particular political or geopolitical agenda or interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHis agenda is the Gospel and his authority is moral and spiritual in nature,\u201d he added, suggesting other world leaders value discussions with the Pope because \u201che has no ulterior motives\u201d and because so many of their citizens consider him a spiritual leader.<\/p>\n

\tMaryann Cusimano Love, a fellow of the Catholic University of America\u2019s Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies, said the Church and the U.S. government have \u201cmany areas of common concern\u201d in foreign policy and Pope Francis and Obama were likely to discuss these.<\/p>\n

\tShe noted their shared concern for peace and anti-poverty work, and suggested they could discuss nuclear weapons, since Obama is in Europe to host the Nuclear Security Summit.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cFor the first time, a U.S. president \u2026 has agreed to the Catholic Church\u2019s call for a world free of nuclear weapons,\u201d Love said.<\/p>\n

\tShe noted the U.S. and the Holy See can find common ground in opposition to world hunger and human trafficking. Immigration issues are another point of discussion.<\/p>\n

\tHowever, she noted that the U.S. government is arming and funding the military capacities of governments such as Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, as well as non-state combatants in Syria, while the Church has emphasized the need to reduce trade in guns and conventional weapons that can worsen conflicts.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBishops in Africa and Latin America will tell you that their countries are awash in guns that were \u2018Made in the USA\u2019,\u201d Love said.<\/p>\n

\tAccording to Love, both the Holy See and the U.S. government \u201cwork for peace in the Middle East,\u201d though the Holy See supports stronger protections for Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians.<\/p>\n

\tAnd Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo, director of the North American College\u2019s Institute for Continuing Theological Education, told Vatican Radio March 26 that while \u201cthe Church \u2026 is looking for points we have in common,\u201d the Holy See is \u201cvery concerned about questions, for example, of religious freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Church is \u201cconcerned about ethical issues such as the destruction of the family by laws which propose gay marriage or \u2018liberty\u2019 in so many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe believe in something else: We believe that there is a law placed in our hearts by God, and no one has the right to change that law. In fact, when one lives that law, one finds true freedom and true joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThat\u2019s what the Church wants, and certainly that is what this Pope wants.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFollowing Obama\u2019s meeting with Pope Francis, and later with officials of the Secretariat of State, the Holy See press office stated that \u201cviews were exchanged on some current international themes and it was hoped that, in areas of conflict, there would be respect for humanitarian and international law and a negotiated solution between the parties involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn the context of bilateral relations and cooperation between Church and State, there was a discussion on questions of particular relevance for the Church in (the U.S), such as the exercise of the rights to religious freedom, life and conscientious objection, as well as the issue of immigration reform. Finally, the common commitment to the eradication of trafficking of human persons in the world was stated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Mar 27, 2014 \/ 11:49 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- U.S. President Barack Obama’s March 27 meeting with Pope Francis comes at a time of tension between his administration and the Church over religious liberty, several Catholic leaders have sa…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nObama meets with Pope at time of 'tense' relations with Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Mar 27, 2014 \/ 11:49 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- U.S. President Barack Obama’s March 27 meeting with Pope Francis comes at a time of tension between his administration and the Church over religious liberty, several Catholic leaders have sa...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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