Foreign affairs likely to dominate agenda

President Barack Obama was set to meet Pope Francis on Thursday at the Vatican, writes Michael Sean Winters.

The White House did not comment before the meeting on any specific issues to be discussed, but most observers expected a focus on areas of convergence in foreign affairs.

In advance of the meeting, the president of the US bishops’ conference, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, issued a statement praising Secretary of State John Kerry for his efforts to bring about peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

With Pope Francis going to the Holy Land in May, the ongoing peace efforts were expected be a priority topic for the President and the Pope. Because Pope Francis has made concern for the poor a central focus of his ministry and because the United States has the economic power to influence developing markets throughout the world, income inequality was also a likely agenda item.

Meanwhile Cardinal Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, strongly criticised Mr Obama in an interview with EWTN, saying the president “appears to be a totally secularised man who aggressively promotes anti-life and anti-family policies”. Cardinal Burke said Mr Obama’s policies “have become progressively more hostile toward Christian civilisation”.