Vatican UN rep notes “great warmth” in meeting between Obama and Pope Francis

David Gibson over at RNS picks up on some interesting observations via Vatican Radio, following the meeting last week between President Obama and Pope Francis:

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said that in the wake of the meeting, the Catholic Church and the Obama administration could now develop a road toward “compromise” on controversial ethical issues, if not quite a “shared pathway.”

“The first impression of this meeting is the public image of a great warmth and the desire on the part of the Holy See to find a common path to fight poverty, to promote immigration reform, in short, on social themes that are very important,” said Tomasi, who was attending a meeting on Catholic social teaching in the northern Italian city of Trieste.

“There are, however, other problems that worry the Catholic Church in the United States, in particular those of an ethical nature,” Tomasi added, referring to differences over abortion, stem cell research, contraception policies, and the like.

But, according to a Vatican Radio report, Tomasi went on to say:

“The desire to find a way forward, a compromise, a solution – it seems that such an avenue could indeed grow from this cordial meeting.”

In other comments reported by Vatican Radio, Tomasi said that “the popularity and the credibility of Pope Francis are high everywhere,” and that has an impact on religion as a whole – not just Catholicism.

“I have to say,” the Vatican diplomat went on, “that some Muslim ambassadors, for example, hug me when they see me, telling me that “this is our pope, too.’ That means that there is a message that goes beyond the Catholic Church.”

“The figure of Pope Francis is seen not only as representative of the Catholic Church, but in some sense as representative of religion.”

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