SO EXACTLY WHERE IS THE U.R. GOING TO "REPAIR" OUR RELATIONS ABROAD?:

Forging a New Relationship: Controversial Issues Pose a Challenge for Obama and Pope (Francis X. Rocca, 1/03/09, Religion News Service)

In the 24 years since the United States and the Holy See established full diplomatic ties, relations have never been closer or warmer than during the administration of President Bush.

The two sides broke over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, but Bush's personal esteem for popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and his agreement with Catholic teaching on such controversial issues as abortion, embryonic stem-cell research and same-sex marriage, have fostered a special rapport. Bush has met six times with the leader of the Catholic Church, more often than any other U.S. president.

The relationship between the Vatican and the White House is bound to change this month with the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, whose support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research has drawn denunciations from a number of church leaders.

Had Pope Benedict been in office when the war started we wouldn't even have "broken" over it.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 3, 2009 7:51 AM