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Bush then went on to tell the pope that he had recently asked Congress for $30 billion toward fighting the global AIDS crisis, a doubling of the previous U.S. commitment.
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The head of Sant'Egidio said Bush told them the pope wanted the United States "to play a leading role against suffering" in the world, to which Bush reportedly replied "and we'll do it."
The U.S. already plays a leading role against world suffering. Not only does U.S. govt. give money for world aid, but then so do many private U.S. citizens. Look at what Bill Gates alone had does for Africa in the health care arena. Why are we expected to give more and more? Some one those monies would do alot of good here at home.
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Bush, Catholic community discuss poverty, war, Iraqi Christians
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) -- U.S. President George W. Bush praised the Catholic lay Community of Sant'Egidio for being part of an "international army of compassion" that helps the poor.
Bush met with what he called "one of the great faith-based organizations in the world" to flesh out ways the U.S. government and Sant'Egidio could further their "common commitment to help the poor, feed the hungry and help eradicate disease."
The round-table discussion June 9 had been requested by the White House and was held in the U.S. Embassy to Italy rather than the Sant'Egidio headquarters in the center of Rome due to security concerns.
Present for the hourlong, closed-door meeting were eight representatives from Sant'Egidio, including its founder, Andrea Riccardi. Among the U.S. delegates attending were U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Francis Rooney, White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.
The president of Sant'Egidio, Marco Impagliazzo, told reporters after the meeting that it was "like a fairy tale" getting a call saying Bush wanted to meet with the community, which has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times for its work in conflict resolution.
Impagliazzo said he told Bush that many peace negotiations end up becoming "a circus" with too much fanfare and too little substance to show for it. Bush reportedly told them, "Well, give me an example of positive negotiations where it isn't a circus."
The community delegates explained their secret to mediation is creating "a mixture of diplomacy and friendship." With civil wars in Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Kosovo and now the Darfur region of Sudan, the community's primary aim has been to get factions opposing the government to agree on a common platform for negotiations.
Sant'Egidio delegates told Bush their ideas on how to proceed with getting negotiations off the ground to bring peace in Darfur, but said they "received no explicit request" from Bush for help.
Impagliazzo said Bush praised the group for being "problem solvers" and was impressed with their long history of working for peace and fighting poverty.
"Responding to this," Impagliazzo said they reminded the president that "war is the mother of all poverty."
He said they did not talk about the U.S.-led war in Iraq, though Sant'Egidio delegates did express their concern for the plight of Iraq's Christians and their fear that Christians risked becoming an enclave in northern Iraq. Impagliazzo said Bush did not comment on the matter.
The June 9 encounter also focused on the situation in Africa and how HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, poverty and malnutrition could be fought more effectively.
Bush said at the start of the round table that "the United States is firmly committed to helping the people on the continent of Africa," and he highlighted the billions of dollars being appropriated by Congress to fight disease and promote education there.
Bush said "these programs cannot be effective without loving people on the ground helping a neighbor in need."
Mario Marazziti, spokesman for the Sant'Egidio Community, told reporters that its HIV/AIDS program in Africa is one of "the most effective ones for its results in fighting malnutrition and AIDS." The program, Drug Enhancement against AIDS and Malnutrition, or DREAM, includes HIV testing, counseling and free drug therapy in 10 African countries.
Patients are also treated for other diseases like tuberculosis and malaria and are offered better nutrition and clean water, Marazziti said.
He said community members told Bush that the program "was replicable beyond Africa" and that they were ready to help other organizations and governments spread the initiative.
The Sant'Egidio Community delegates also told Bush of their concern for the 50 million children in the world who go unregistered at birth. Impagliazzo said Bush was visibly moved after hearing nearly 70 percent of all African infants are not registered by any government.
These so-called "invisible children" are not only denied the right to vote and receive an education and other benefits, they also are extremely vulnerable to exploitation since the children do not exist officially.
Impagliazzo said Sant'Egidio members told Bush of their project in Ivory Coast aimed at helping all of Africa's children get registered, and he said Bush immediately asked Negroponte to follow up on the issue with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
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Pope, Bush discuss wide range of issues, including Christians in Iraq
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Meeting for the first time, Pope Benedict XVI and U.S. President George W. Bush spoke about the precarious situation of Christians in Iraq and a wide range of other foreign policy and moral issues.
The pope and president looked relaxed as they greeted each other and spoke briefly in front of reporters before their 35-minute private encounter June 9. Bush later held a separate 40-minute meeting with the Vatican's top foreign policy officials.
A Vatican statement described the meetings as "cordial" and said they had focused in part on "the worrisome situation in Iraq and the critical conditions in which the Christian community finds itself." Tens of thousands of Christians have fled Iraq over the last four years to escape violence and discrimination.
The talks also touched on the overall situation in the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and developments in Lebanon.
"The Holy See again expressed the hope for a 'regional' and 'negotiated' solution to the conflicts and crises that are tormenting the region," the Vatican statement said.
Bush and the pope also discussed problems in Africa, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and developments in Latin America, it said.
"Finally, there was an examination of current moral and religious questions, including those related to human rights and religious freedom, the defense and promotion of life, marriage and the family, education of new generations and sustainable development," the Vatican said.
Before the president's visit, the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, went out of his way to praise Bush for his position on abortion and for "positive initiatives in favor of the defense of life from conception."
Bush arrived at the Vatican under very heavy security. His motorcade entered St. Peter's Square from a side street instead of along Via della Conciliazione, the wide avenue leading to the Vatican, which had been cleared of cars and was lined with curious onlookers.
In the sunny St. Damasus Courtyard, the president was greeted by U.S. Archbishop James Harvey, one of the pope's private secretaries, who escorted him past a picket of Swiss Guards and up an elevator to the fourth floor of the Apostolic Palace for the papal audience.
The pope smiled broadly as he greeted Bush just outside his private library. The two men shook hands, and the pope ushered the president to a large desk. Reporters and photographers were allowed to stay for the first minute of the encounter.
"It's good to be with you sir," Bush said as he sat down opposite the pope, crossing his legs and leaning back in a white chair.
"You come from the conference in Heiligendamm?" the pope said, referring to the Group of Eight meeting of the heads of industrialized countries in Germany.
"I did, your old country. And it was successful," the president replied.
"Successful? You had some decisions? It's not so easy," the pope said. He said it was important for humanity that conferences like this produce decisions.
"It was, you know, a lot of different opinions. But it was good. It was good," Bush said.
The pope asked whether Bush's dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin was also good.
The president paused as photographers kept snapping photos and said: "I'll tell you in a minute." Both men laughed. Putin and Bush had sparred over a U.S. proposal to build a missile defense system in Europe.
Bush then went on to tell the pope that he had recently asked Congress for $30 billion toward fighting the global AIDS crisis, a doubling of the previous U.S. commitment.
After reporters left, the two leaders met privately without aides or interpreters. When the doors of the library opened, Bush's entourage was led into the room and the president introduced them, one by one, to the pope. The pontiff handed each of them a medallion. Among those in the 12-member U.S. delegation greeting the pontiff were Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser; Josh Bolten, White House chief of staff; and Steve Hadley, national security adviser.
The pope and the president also exchanged gifts. Bush gave the pope a long wooden walking stick with a design representing the Ten Commandments. When the pope picked it up, Bush told him it had been made by a former homeless man in Dallas.
"The Ten Commandments?" the pope asked, looking at the inscriptions.
"Yes, sir," Bush answered.
The pope presented Bush with an engraving of St. Peter's Basilica and a gold medallion of his pontificate. The president put on his glasses to give it a closer look and remarked, "It's beautiful, thank you very much."
Afterward, Bush and several top aides met with Cardinal Bertone and other Vatican foreign policy officials.
The Vatican's concern about Iraq was underlined in another way during the Bush visit. As the president and the pope ended their meeting, the Vatican released a statement by the newly appointed prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, who said many Eastern-rite Catholics were suffering in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere because of "war, violence or fear of an uncertain future."
"I think also of those who must leave their homeland and everything they own," Archbishop Sandri said. Church officials have been increasingly distressed at the exodus of Iraqi Catholics following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The last time Bush came for a papal audience, in 2004, Pope John Paul II told him of his deep concern for the situation in Iraq and reminded the president of the "unequivocal position" taken by the Vatican against the war.
During his first term, Bush met three times with Pope John Paul, twice at the Vatican and once at the papal villa outside Rome.
Before coming to see Pope Benedict, Bush told reporters that he would be in a "listening mode" when he met the 80-year-old pontiff. He said a papal audience was always a "moving experience."
"Sometimes I'm not poetic enough to describe what it's like to be in the presence of the Holy Father," Bush said.
In comments to reporters after his meeting with the pope, Bush said the pope was "deeply concerned" about Christians in Iraq and feared that they were "being mistreated by the Muslim majority."
The pope "was concerned that the society that was evolving would not tolerate the Christian religion," Bush said during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Romani Prodi at Chigi Palace, the seat of Italy's government.
"I assured (the pope) we were working hard to make sure" Iraqis would respect "that modern constitution voted on by the people that would honor people from different walks of life and different attitudes."
Bush said the pope also talked about immigration.
"He's watching the immigration debate very closely in America and I told him I was a person who strongly supports comprehensive immigration reform that, on the one hand, we will enforce our law and, on the other hand, we need to treat people with dignity," Bush said.
In a separate meeting immediately after Bush met with Pope Benedict, leaders of Rome's Sant'Egidio Community told the president of their concern for Iraq's Christians.
The president of the Catholic lay community, Marco Impagliazzo, told reporters that the leaders told Bush the Christians in Iraq were suffering and risked becoming an enclave in northern Iraq.
Bush "did not respond" with any comments, Impagliazzo told reporters.
The head of Sant'Egidio said Bush told them the pope wanted the United States "to play a leading role against suffering" in the world, to which Bush reportedly replied "and we'll do it."
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