Mr Obama (left) was expected to discuss both areas of agreement such as foreign policy and those that divide them, notably abortion. -- PHOTOS: AFP, REUTERS
VATICAN CITY - US PRESIDENT Barack Obama met Pope Benedict XVI for the first time on Friday, thanking him for a 'great honour' as they went into private talks in the pontiff's personal libary at the Vatican.
a long list of common views
VATICAN expert John Allen said the two share a long list of common views: 'There's foreign policy, Islam, the environment, the poor, health care, and on and on,' he told AFP.
'We know the pope has been keenly aware of the president's outreach to the Muslim world (and) the pope shares the president's view on reducing the number of nuclear weapons,' Mr Gibbs said.
Both men were all smiles as they warmly shook hands, Mr Obama in a black suit and tie and Pope Benedict wearing a red chasuble over a lace surplice covering his white cassock.
'It's a great honour, thank you very much,' Mr Obama said.
The US leader, who met first with Vatican Secretary of State Tercisio Bertone, was expected to discuss both areas of agreement such as foreign policy and those that divide them, notably abortion.
Mr Obama 'recognises that this is much more than your typical state visit', his aide Denis McDonough said in nearby L'Aquila, central Italy, where a three-day Group of Eight (G-8) summit, which Mr Obama attended, was winding up.
Photographers at the Vatican overheard Mr Obama telling the pope that the summit of powerful nations had been 'very productive and concrete', adding that world leaders had agreed a food security programme worth US$20 billion (S$29.3 billion).
At the private audience, 'there are issues on which they'll agree, issues on which they'll disagree, and issues on which they'll agree to continue to work on going forward', Mr McDonough said.
After taking office in January, Mr Obama ended his predecessor George W. Bush's restrictions on government funding for embryonic stem cell research and for family planning groups that carry out or facilitate abortions overseas.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said aboard Air Force One en route to the G-8 summit that he expected the discussion to be 'frank'. 'There's a lot that they agree on that they'll get a chance to discuss,' he said. -- AFP
